Duelyst Forums

One (and two) mana faction-thematic cantrips

#1

Abyssian: Recently got Sphere of Darkness.
Vetruvian: Scion’s First Wish, Divine Sparks (largely ignoring DS)
Lyonar: Aegis Barrier, Aerial Rift, Trinity Oath (not ignoring since its so ridiculously good), Lionheart Blessing
Vanar: Recently got Frigid Corona (2 mana)
Magmar: Had Dance of Memes but recently got Entropic Gaze.
Songhai: ???

Songhai has more expensive and conditional card draws and none that are low cost replaces like every other faction. This is kind of a general/suggestion and really more focused on throwing it out there than on a serious consideration.

I really like how most of the faction’s low mana cantrips really suit the feel of the faction, but Songhai doesn’t have one. Yes, Songhai has a fair bit of card draw, but the lack of a faction-suited cantrip seems both relevant and a little sad to me.

I thought that if MDS was changed Teleport and give +1/+1 to Teleport it anywhere and draw a card (removing the +1/+1), it wouldn’t be OP as it still takes 1 mana like most of the others and it fits Songhai’s gameplay-theme of positional importance. The overarching effects would of course have to be taken into consideration.

I just wanted to point this out since all the other factions have low cantrips that suit there theme (something I really like), it’d be cool to see Songhai get on that bus.

(I understand why this change could be disliked, and removing/altering a card draw from another card like KE may be considered. Please don’t focus on this aspect atm though; I’d prefer comments more related towards the thematic-cantrips.)

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#2

The zero mana one that reactivates a minion is jank enough. You guys don’t need another one :stuck_out_tongue:

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#3

Songhai doesn’t have cheap card draw because if it did they would be far to bursty (they are already bursty enough :wink:). However, they still have conditional cantrip in Killing Edge and Twin strike.

I believe Songhai used to have a zero mana cantrip called mana vortex. Legend has it that the card was so terrifying, that people would auto concede upon seeing Reva.

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#4

Remember when mana vortex drew a card? Back in the days of spellhai completely dominating the ladder and all the try hards who cared about rank exclusively playing that deck because it was literally destroying everything else on the ladder?

I dont want to return to those dark days where the sarcastic “fun and interactive” was synonymous with songhai. And that one spellhai reva deck was synonymous with songhai.

Never again.

And if you’re counting trinity oath ans divine spark, you may as well put heavens eclipse for songhai

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#5

I still have Vietnam flashbacks from October’s Reva…

Oh and to OP: if you counting Dance of Memes and recently nerfed gaze, you might as well count nerfed songhai cards. Are you taking it seriously or not? Seriously Dance of Memes?

#6

You forgot Inner Oasis :cry:

Also, pls no cheap hai cantrip. KE and Twin Strike are potential cantrips already.

#7

Whisper of the sand is also not there as well, which is a auto-include in any obelysk decks.

#8

Yeah that was me. A good 15% of my matches were won through insta-concedes.

#9

I think that cheap card draw is forbidden in songhai, because they are so tempo-oriented. So the card that gives tempo and no card disadvantage is very dangerous in songhai.
I personally dislike that no-card-draw desing for factions as it always gets ignored by new cards (hello, Magmar). Also i believe that problem with mana vortex wasnt draw a card ability but rather all that spell synergy the card had. If it was made a 1/1 or 0/1 with that ability, i would like to see the results.

As for thematic draw a card, i think that
1 mana spell
Teleport your general 1 space. Draw a card at the end of your turn.

might be good, but mana vortex was problematic so i have my doubts.

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#10

I LOVE your card idea. Hearing about Mana Vortex and Siphon Energy’s old forms makes me realize that CPG has clearly been attempting to learn how to design 0 mana cards (Slo being their latest example).

I think that if Mana vortext was a 1 mana card ability with draw a card, that’d be another alternative. The fact that it was 0 mana and draw, in a songhai faction, yea…I can see an oopsies :slight_smile:.

Anycase,

@nikolaosx That’s not a cantrip.
@phoinexflame Thanks for informing me about the old mana vortex. I’d never recommend a 0 mana cantrip. I think a 1 mana cantrip would be very suitable as trading 1 mana for a card draw is very valuable to songhai’s low mana playstyle (where every mana matters).
@oranos Sandclock’s and my thoughts are more interactive than mana vortex as they affect the board. I didn’t count divine spark. Trinity Oath is ridiculous. Heavens and divine are both lesser value by comparison and are utilized for later stages in the game compared to the main focus of the cards I’m looking at.
@kvewgir I called it Dance of Meme’s, do you think I’m taking it seriously? :slight_smile:

#11

1 mana spell - reduce the next spell by 1 and draw a card… why bother playing this. all it does is fill space so you can have a smaller deck. not to mention if you mana vortex -> mana vortex -> mana vortex you have still only spent 1 mana and will draw 3 cards to make up for it

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#12

True sry I was thinking of a different way to change the card before. All true points :slight_smile:

#13

you’re right :slight_smile: songhai needs another card draw option. I’m struggling with Kaleos now, as other neutral options suck.

#14

Trust me, you don’t want that. No one wants that. Were you around for CanceReva? *shudders

#15

There’s a massive difference between a 0 mana and 1 mana cantrip. I wasn’t around, and can imagine how awful it’d have been for opponents, but 1 and 2 mana faction-thematic cantrips are across the board with Songhai being the only exception. If the card was only position related (like @sandclock’s idea), it wouldn’t be scary and probably less oppressive than the strengths of other faction cantrips like Frigid Corona or Sphere of Darkness.

#16

Yeah I was there… Reva was and is still fucked :stuck_out_tongue: that’s one of the reason why I hate Reva. But Kaleos needs some. He’s at the bottom tier now.

#17

My idea would be a minion that is just a 2/1 for 1 that reads “if this minion is killed by an enemy minion return it to your hand instead” maybe less wordy, again its conditional.
Makes it so their general has to deal with it or the Songhai player can attack with it to another minion and the replace out.

#18

Snowchaser much?

#19

Vortex didn’t cantrip in the traditional sense though. It’s almost as if people look past the actual problem cards that was Blood Rage Mask/4 Winds and Inner Focus and try to pin the problem on on of the few good draw options Songhai had.

It’s a testament to how truly awful draw cards are in the faction when it’s best draw comes from Spelljammer and Sojourner.

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#20

What are cantrips?