Make your own Magic card!

So, like a vampire lord that has "Vampires you control have phalanx" and "When this creature is part of a formation, assign damage to it last and prevent all damage done to it".

Basically a big guy who hides behind a wall of minions.

edited 16th Jul '15 2:53:19 PM by Elfive

Basically, yeah! Or a lower-level one could be, "When another creature in a formation with ~ dies, you gain 2 life."

Craven Tactician 2WB
Creature - Human Soldier
Phalanx
Sacrifice another creature in ~'s formation: creatures in ~'s formation gain indestructible until end of turn.
"When I said sacrifices had to be made, I didn't mean to imply that I would be the one making them."
1/3

edited 16th Jul '15 3:13:46 PM by Durazno

Ethereal Golem (2)
Artifact Creature - Construct
Trample
If ~ would leave the battlefield, return it to its owner's hand.
0/0
The prototype for the intangible servant worked perfectly. If only it didn't make its controls intangible as well...

I'm certain there's a way to break this.

Cost-reducing effects like Heartless Summoning. You cast for free, it enters the field, then returns to your hand. Unless they have a counter you can rack up a massive Storm count and/or trigger your "whenever a creature enters the battlefield" and possibly "whenever a creature dies" effects an infinite number of times.

Card tax:

Strong Summons (1G)
Enchantment
Creature spells you control cost {2} more to cast.
Creatures you control get +1/+1.

edited 16th Jul '15 5:30:17 PM by CountDorku

Having B and/or R creatures act more akin to W is possible actually, so long as they're Vampires. Innistrad vampires are WBR. The R is their "bloodlust/fighting" aspect, the B is their "lifedrain" aspect, the W is their "noble" aspect.

Of course if they're multi-colored (WB or WR) the point is moot. LOL

edited 16th Jul '15 7:51:22 PM by entropy13

Yeah, reading through banding works, it really does seems to be a matter of the way the power was worded rather than actual rules complexity, and I've only been playing since Scars/Innistrad.

The simple version is that when creatures band together to attack or block as a group, they all have to attack or block as one, but their controller gets to decide how the damage is dealt rather than the creature dealing the damage.

I'm not sure that "Phalanx" is the right choice for a 'fixed' version of Banding, though. I think it might have flavor issues for certain worlds, kind of like how 'Kung Fu' became 'Prowess' so that it could be used on worlds where 'Kung Fu' sounds out of place. Or how 'Bushido' would probably require a rename if they used it on a non-Japanese world or with non-Samurai creatures.

I'm thinking something like "Squad" might work better. It sound less like something that's specific to a certain type of Plane, whereas "Phalanx" sounds more at home on a roman or greek world. Likewise, I think it might be easier to name the group a 'team' or the like rather than a 'formation'. Especially since 'Formation' turns out to be a card name.

That said, there's also the problem of how many words are involved to make anything resembling Banding work properly. I think it's viable as a mechanic if you explain it right, but it's also going to be very long-winded no matter how you try to present it.

If you could find a way to put all the pieces together, I'd put it in White primary, Green secondary, and Red and Black tertiary.

Hmm...maybe...?

Squad (When a creature with Squad attacks or blocks, you may have any number of creatures with Squad, and up to one without, form a 'Team' to attack or block with it as though though they were a single colorless creature with the combined power and toughness of its members and no abilities. Combat damage dealt to a Team is assigned by that teams controller rather than as normal.)

But there's still probably a lot of problems with my attempt, too.

That's a good point about the name. Heh, I just went with "phalanx" because I liked the word. Squad is much better and less specific, but we might even want to move further from the military flavor.

One issue that occurred to me was that we would have to define how teams interact with combat tricks and maybe include it in the description. Spells that affect power and toughness would presumably have to pick a specific creature within the team, right? Or would they create a floating mass of power and toughness that disappears when the team disbands? Would your opponent be able to Repel a whole team?

I'd rather Flanking than Banding tbh. That's why one got into Modern through Time Spiral/Future Sight and the other didn't.

I think the problem with moving away from specifically flavorful terms is that it defeats one of the main purposes of having keywords, which is to make complex mechanics fit into flavor seamlessly. Bushido and such is a bit more specific than is probably reasonable, but phalanx isn't that out there. Phalanx formations are used reasonably often in various settings.

Stillborn Sliver - W
Creature - Sliver
Sliver cards in your hand have Miracle XW, where X is that card's converted mana cost minus one.
0/0

Here is a rewording of banding that does everything banding does normally.

Banding - When this creature is assigned to attack or block, it may also be assigned to Band another attacking or blocking creature you control and all creatures Banding that creature. If any creature is assigned to block a creature in a band, that creature blocks all creatures in the band. When combat damage would be dealt to any creature in a band, that band's controller may reassign that damage split among the creatures in the band.

Mentioning the whole 'only one non-banding in a band' is completely unnecessary as more than that could not happen in this wording.

edited 18th Jul '15 6:33:45 AM by StephanReiken

Careful Artisan 2U
Creature - Human Rigger
If a rigger you control would assemble a Contraption, it is of higher quality than that rigger could normally produce by a single level.
"Some—I will not name them—think that the high art of rigging is a matter done without much prior thought. They are foolish beyond measure."
0/2

Master of Disruption 2WR
Creature - Human
Whenever a rigger controlled by an opponent would assemble Contraptions, destroy a Contraption that player controls.
"Rigging is an accursed practice. It must be ended!"
2/2

Scion of the Gods 2WG
Enchantment Creature - Soldier
Affinity for enchantments
First Strike, Lifelink
3/3

Nyktheros, Nyx-Merged Temple
Legendary Enchantment Land
Nyx-Merged Temple enters the battlefield tapped.
Add 1 to your mana pool.

Orb of Sloth 1
Artifact
Creatures your opponents control have vigilance.
Created by the mad artificer, Ronald, it causes enemies to be relatively more prepared than you. It is a mystery why he created it. Perhaps he was just mad.

edited 20th Jul '15 11:08:48 AM by ImperialSunlight

Chaos Morph - 3
Enchantment
Morph 2
When this card enters the battlefield, flip it onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If it turns over completely at least once during the flip, it is face-up or face-down depending on how it lands.
All cards have the abilities above. (This card is not an enchantment when it is face-down.)

Rummage R
Sorcery
Rummage can only be cast while you have 1 or more cards other than Rummage in your hand.
Discard a card, then draw two cards.

Train of Thought UR
Sorcery
Choose One:
Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
Discard two card, then draw three cards.
"I need a second to think this through."
"A second what?"

That's almost exactly the same as Tormenting Voice.

Hm. I forgot about that card. It is 1 CMC less, I guess. I think that's not unreasonable, given that it's not the best card ever at 2 CMC.

edited 21st Jul '15 4:36:47 PM by ImperialSunlight

Ancestral Curse - B
Instant
Each player that has drawn five or more cards this turn discards three cards.
Your great-grandfather sought the same knowledge you did. There's a reason you've never met him.

Power of Knowledge (1)(U)

• Enchantment
• If you would discard a card, you may instead shuffle it into your library.
• (3)(U) - Scry 2. Draw a card.
• Your son sought the same knowledge as you did. And you taught him well.

edited 21st Jul '15 8:49:02 PM by entropy13

Sacred Pyre 1 (R/W)
Enchantment
If a creature would be destroyed through damage, or an indestructible creature would be dealt damage that would destroy it if it were not indestructible, exile that creature instead.

I think you could word it as "If a creature is dealt lethal damage, exile it." You can still deal "lethal damage" to an indestructible creature, even if that wouldn't kill it.

Grasshopper People In Cages R Us (3G)
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay 2G. If you do, put a 1/1 green Insect creature token onto the battlefield under your control.
It has everything imaginable, assuming the only thing you can imagine is grasshopper people in cages.

Mental Balance 2W
Enchantment
Whenever a player would discard X cards through an effect they do not control, that player may draw up to X cards.
Let the loss of old knowledge be an opportunity to learn something new.

Missingno 5
Legendary Creature - *
Missingno has the same subtypes as each creature on the battlefield with the lowest converted mana cost.
Missingno gets +10/+15 and has shroud as long as it's not in combat.
0/0

Damn you need Blasphemous Act AND Anger of the Gods for Missingno.