[ChotM #4]: Screw the Rules! [VOTING!]

[Espithel]

Rule number 1: Break all the rules. Except number 1.

Welcome to the Weekly Card Design Challenge! Each week, the Curators will host a card design challenge with a certain theme or gimmick; for the rest of the week, your goal is to design the best card you can that works with the challenge! Once that week is up, a new weekly challenge will start and the current challenge will go into the Voting Phase! The winners of each poll will be awarded points; your current score can be found on the Monthly Leaderboard!

Each month, the top 1-3 players on the Monthly Leaderboard will get a cool award icon, depending on the number of people that participated.

Spoiler for Score Table:

Amount of people	Points given/scored
3	1 point for first.
4-6	2 points for first, 1 point for second.
7-8	3 points for first, 2 second, 1 third. 7 gives 2 votes.
9-11	4 points for first, 3 second, 2 third, 1 fourth.
12-13	5 for first, 4 2nd, 3 3rd, 2 4th, 1 5th. 12 gives 3 votes.
14-16	6 for first, 5 2nd, 4 3rd, 3 4th, 2 5th, 1 6th.

BONUS: Being the final challenge of a month, ChotM's give two more points to anyone who would get points!
If it was ChotM!
Which it is!

This week's challenge is to Make a card that messes with one traditional Elements the Game gameplay rule.

Spoiler for Specific rules:

There are certain, inherent rules in all cards. For example:
All creatures, when played, go in creature slots.
A card can't have more than one ability.
A spell can't have an activated ability.
A creature deals damage equal to its ATK.
If a creature has 0 or less HP, it dies.
There's a quanta cap of 75 quanta.

Your card must allow Elements the Game to stay functional. For example: You can create a spell that lowers handsize to 0 or raises handsize to infinity, but you can't have a spell that deletes the hand zone or makes the hand zone a negative size.

Players still have to follow CI&A submission rules and needs to be capable of being functional enough to deride an ingame concept (e.g. lowering the quanta cap, stopping the draw phase, etc...). If a card is referring to something that wasn't defined in the submission (e.g. Defining "Kung Fury" tokens but not saying what the Kung Fury tokens are), it becomes illegal. Please try to keep your card serious and functional if possible; despite the humorous premise the resulting card still needs to make some level of sense and be balanced by Elements the Game standards.

If you need a "litmus test", ask yourself this: Do you think we would want to card into Cygnia? If no, the card's probably breaking too many boundaries.

Spoiler for Previous ruleset, for posterity:

This week's challenge is to Make a card that alters or breaks traditional rules!

Spoiler for Specific rules:

There are certain, inherent rules in all cards. For example:
All creatures, when played, go in creature slots.
A card can't have more than one ability.
A spell can't have an activated ability.
A creature deals damage equal to its ATK.
If a creature has 0 or less HP, it dies.
There's a quanta cap of 75 quanta.

Etc.
Now, of course, altering or breaking rules needs to be done with caution. Simply going willy-nilly about it is a bad idea.
You need to prove why your card is worth the rule change, if not the Cygnia coding aneurysm.
Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

Also, you're breaking coding rules, not balance rules. So all regular balance applies (no instakill or things like that).

Don't put art in your card. Don't submit more than one card. Submit the upgraded and unupgraded.
Please submit your ideas in this thread - whether you make a separate thread for your card idea is up to you.

We are in the Voting Phase! There are only two acceptable methods of sniffing trousers to determine if they need cleaning. Good luck!

Submissions

Spoiler for Fountain of Youth (Linkcat):

NAME: Fountain of  Youth ELEMENT: Life COST: 7 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: You cannot lose by Deckout. Heal 2 HP per turn. Immaterial.	NAME: Fountain of  Youth ELEMENT: Life COST: 7 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: You cannot lose by Deckout. Heal 3 HP per turn. Immaterial.

ART: IDEA: Linkcat NOTES: I really like this one. SERIES:

Spoiler for Cursed Amulet (andretimpa):

NAME: Cursed Amulet ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 3 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Cursed Amulet is played in your opponent's hand with +1 cost. Deal 3 damage/turn to its owner. Can't be discarded.	NAME: Cursed Amulet ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 2 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Cursed Amulet is played in your opponent's hand with +1 cost. Deal 3 damage/turn to its owner. Can't be discarded.

ART: IDEA: andretimpa NOTES: If your hand reaches 8 cards and you can't discard you lose. A mix of hand denial and alternate damage that can backfire depending on what your opponent is playing. Obviously blocked by sanctuary. This is probably balanced considering PvP (I think it's expensive enough not to make ghostmare insanely powerful), but might be broken vs PvE in the hands of an AI with dexterity. Clarifying what I mean by "+1 cost": If I play the unupped for 3 it goes into my opponent's hand as a card costing 4 to play. If my opponent plays it again it goes into my hand as a card costing 5 to play and so on. What this breaks: Cards have always a cost that depends at most of what is happening right now (Fae being the only card that doesn't always have the same cost). This card's cost depends on what has happened to it (mostly if the players start to play "hot potato" with it) You don't play cards into player hands All cards can be discarded if your hand is full Damage and deckout are the only win conditions (a full lock of your opponent's hand becomes a new win condition, though it is not always reachable) SERIES:

Spoiler for Lightening Tempest (OdinVanguard):

NAME: Lightening Tempest ELEMENT: Aether COST: 20 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Divide 18 damage among up to 6 targets. Refund 3 per target after the first. Flooded targets take double damage.	NAME: Lightening Annihilation ELEMENT: Aether COST: 25 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Divide 32 damage among up to 8 targets. Refund 3 per target after the first. Flooded targets take double damage.

ART: IDEA: OdinVanguard NOTES: "Today the world will seem just out of reach" "But once it does reach you, you had best have a lightening rod handy." Should break several rules / implicit taboos nicely. First, it clearly violates the single targetting only rule (i.e. player is prompted to pick up to 6 / 8 targets). It also breaks a seemingly unspoken rule that cards which cost more than 10 to 15 quanta are not viable. Lastly, refunding / cost reduction seems to never be done (though I'm not sure the specifics on why). On a more mechanically interesting note, it seeks to illustrate the balancing act between cost efficiency and per target damage output. In this case, the more targets that get picked, the less damage gets dealt to each individual target, but the higher the cost efficiency per point of damage dealt becomes. In both cases, they will be a bit more efficient than a firestorm when the maximum number of targets are picked (although firestorm will eventually outstrip them for very full fields). This fills a niche between heavy single target attacks and mass CC. SERIES:

Spoiler for Loophole (Treldon):

NAME: Loophole ELEMENT: Aether COST: 6 TYPE: Permanent TEXT: While Loophole is in play your HP cannot go below 1 if you have all 6 of the "left element" nymphs in hand.	NAME: Escape Clause ELEMENT: Aether COST: 5 TYPE: Permanent TEXT: While Escape Clause is in play your HP cannot go below 1 if you have all 6 of the "right element" nymphs in hand.

ART: - IDEA: Treldon NOTES: Left and right hand are based on the game's quanta panel, so left:    right: So your health cannot go below 1 (which is a major break of the rules) if all these conditions are fulfilled, but you can still lose by deckout. "all 6" means at least one of each relevant element. This combo is available with either having all of those nymphs in your deck (good luck or good job, depending on your harem), or with NQ/NT + RT/Eternity. Having the cards be in either or would of course make it easier to play the latter combo, but we don't want to make it easy, do we? Plus is the element of immortality. SERIES: Weekly Challenge - CIA

Spoiler for Identity Crisis (dragtom):

Spoiler for Banishment of Greed (Submachine):

NAME: Banishment of Greed ELEMENT: Light COST: 8 TYPE: Permanent TEXT: Your opponent is limited to 15 quanta for each element. Your remaining light quanta is consumed when you play this.	NAME: Banishment of Greed ELEMENT: Light COST: 8 TYPE: Permanent TEXT: Your opponent is limited to 12 quanta for each element. Your remaining light quanta is consumed when you play this.

NOTES:

The rule I'm screwing is the constant and reliable 75 quanta cap. Sanctuary blocks the effect. It is not mentioned on the card (because it didn't fit), but affected people are immune to Scramble(Discord), Devourer(Devourer|Pest) and Black Hole(Black Hole and Amber|Gravity Nymph).

Spoiler for Fast Forward (1011686):

NAME: Fast Forward ELEMENT: Time COST: 18 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Take a second turn after this one. Consumes all remaining .	NAME: Fast Forward ELEMENT: Time COST: 15 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Take a second turn after this one. Consumes all remaining .

ART: IDEA: NOTES: Once you end your turn, after attacking, poison, quanta generation etc, you simply take another one and draw a card. SERIES: Weekly Challenge: Screw the Rules!

Spoiler for Living Monument (TiankPL):

NAME: Living Monument ELEMENT: Earth COST: 5 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Target creature becomes permanent.	NAME: Living Monument ELEMENT: Earth COST: 4 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Target creature becomes permanent.

ART: IDEA: Tiank NOTES: Target creature will gain permanent HP stat (instead of number there'd be permanent icon). From now on, it can only be targeted by permanent targeting skills or spells. Any other skill is replaced by this "permanent skill" (so for example infinite Acceleration is not possible, as this spell would replace it). SERIES:

Spoiler for Spiriting Away (Basman-1453):

NAME: Spiriting Away ELEMENT: Aether COST: 6 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Banish target creature for three turns, then return it to its owner's field.	NAME: Spiriting Away ELEMENT: Aether COST: 5 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Banish target creature for three turns, then return it to its owner's field.

ART: IDEA: Basman-1453 NOTES: Today, the world will seem just out of reach. You'll find yourself, several days later, hearing tales of the world being temporarily out of reach. Banished creatures gets out of the field for three turns (ideally, it's placed somewhere beside the main playing field), during which it cannot attack, cannot have its skills used (both active skills and passive skills are disabled), and cannot be targeted. Banished creatures are also not affected by field effects (Nightfall or Flooding, for example) nor mass creature control spells (Thunderstorm or Pandemonium, for example). The slot it used to occupy is now freed for new creatures to occupy. Banished creatures are returned immediately after your enemy made three turns. That is, if you casted Spiriting Away on your creature on the third turn, it'll return on the beginning of your sixth turn. If you casted it on your enemy's creature, it'll return just before you start your sixth turn, after all his permanents have made their action. When the Banishment period is over, it returns to the original owner's least-numbered free creature slot with the exact same stats and skills before it was Banished. If the field is full when the Banishment period is over, the Banished creature is lost for good. Banished Mutants will return as the exact same Mutant pre-Banishment. So, here's some example: Spoiler for Exhibit A: Suika summons a Phase Recluse (7/2), Blessed said Phase Recluse (10/5), and then ends her turn. Yukari casts Spiriting Away on Suika's PRecluse. Three turns later, Suika's PRecluse returns at 10/5 instead of 7/2.

[CleanOnion]

Dood wot

[Espithel]

Are you confused at the rules or the beautiful vomit that is the card at the top of the OP, Clean?

[CleanOnion]

Are you confused at the rules or the beautiful vomit that is the card at the top of the OP, Clean?

That card is easily the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. We need a secret code in Cygnia that changes daily to unlock it for that day and there's a formula to what the code is and any time someone works out it out and releases it publicly it's changed.

No, I'm just boggled at all the ramifications this could have. I have an idea but I'm pretty sure its too risky so I might wait a couple days for other submissions to come in.

[Treldon]

Same problem here. My first idea is so horrendous - yet totally possible to do - that I know it would either win for sure or banish me from CI&A for an 2 eternities

[Linkcat]

Spoiler for Fountain of Youth:

NAME: Fountain of  Youth ELEMENT: Life COST: 7 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: You cannot lose by Deckout. Heal 2 HP per turn. Immaterial.	NAME: Fountain of  Youth ELEMENT: Life COST: 7 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: You cannot lose by Deckout. Heal 3 HP per turn. Immaterial.

ART: IDEA: Linkcat NOTES: I really like this one. SERIES:

[andretimpa]

Spoiler for Hidden:

NAME: Cursed Amulet ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 3 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Cursed Amulet is played in your opponent's hand with +1 cost. Deal 3 damage/turn to its owner. Can't be discarded.	NAME: Cursed Amulet ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 2 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Cursed Amulet is played in your opponent's hand with +1 cost. Deal 3 damage/turn to its owner. Can't be discarded.

ART: IDEA: andretimpa NOTES: If your hand reaches 8 cards and you can't discard you lose. A mix of hand denial and alternate damage that can backfire depending on what your opponent is playing. Obviously blocked by sanctuary. This is probably balanced considering PvP (I think it's expensive enough not to make ghostmare insanely powerful), but might be broken vs PvE in the hands of an AI with dexterity. Clarifying what I mean by "+1 cost": If I play the unupped for 3 it goes into my opponent's hand as a card costing 4 to play. If my opponent plays it again it goes into my hand as a card costing 5 to play and so on. What this breaks: Cards have always a cost that depends at most of what is happening right now (Fae being the only card that doesn't always have the same cost). This card's cost depends on what has happened to it (mostly if the players start to play "hot potato" with it) You don't play cards into player hands All cards can be discarded if your hand is full Damage and deckout are the only win conditions (a full lock of your opponent's hand becomes a new win condition, though it is not always reachable) SERIES:

[Submachine]

Spoiler for Hidden:

I'll post properly later

Cursed Amulet 2

On play, enter the opponent's hand instead of the board with its cost raised by 1. Deal 3 damage per turn to its owner. Cannot be discarded.

If it cannot be discarded, then it's like an OP version of SoV. This one not only virtually immaterial (chances are your opponent won't have the quanta to play the card), but apart from the constant damage, it even denies card drawing slots. A False God with 12 of these cards would nullify drawing for the player.

A question though: what happens if you have 8 Cursed Amulets in your hand? Will the game crash or it will let you discard one.

[andretimpa]

Spoiler for Hidden:

I'll post properly later

Cursed Amulet 2

On play, enter the opponent's hand instead of the board with its cost raised by 1. Deal 3 damage per turn to its owner. Cannot be discarded.

If it cannot be discarded, then it's like an OP version of SoV. This one not only virtually immaterial (chances are your opponent won't have the quanta to play the card), but apart from the constant damage, it even denies card drawing slots. A False God with 12 of these cards would nullify drawing for the player.

A question though: what happens if you have 8 Cursed Amulets in your hand? Will the game crash or it will let you discard one.

You'd either lose the game or you would get to a situation where the card can't be played, still thinking about this.

Note that unlike SoV you can heal the damage and you can still play the card. Maybe the amount of damage is too high or the cost too low, but I'm balancing this around an immaterial creature, not SoV. Also, I think you are overvaluing slots in your hand, only fractal and OTKs really care about those. Control and stalls would be slightly annoyed and rushes would laugh at you for playing this.

(Also, if Octane gets 5 gases in play you are toast  , FGs are supposed to be OP)

[OdinVanguard]

Spoiler for Lightening Tempest | Lightening Annihilation:

NAME: Lightening Tempest ELEMENT: Aether COST: 20 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Divide 18 damage among up to 6 targets. Refund 3 per target after the first. Flooded targets take double damage.	NAME: Lightening Annihilation ELEMENT: Aether COST: 25 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Divide 32 damage among up to 8 targets. Refund 3 per target after the first. Flooded targets take double damage.

ART: IDEA: OdinVanguard NOTES: "Today the world will seem just out of reach" "But once it does reach you, you had best have a lightening rod handy." Should break several rules / implicit taboos nicely. First, it clearly violates the single targetting only rule (i.e. player is prompted to pick up to 6 / 8 targets). It also breaks a seemingly unspoken rule that cards which cost more than 10 to 15 quanta are not viable. Lastly, refunding / cost reduction seems to never be done (though I'm not sure the specifics on why). On a more mechanically interesting note, it seeks to illustrate the balancing act between cost efficiency and per target damage output. In this case, the more targets that get picked, the less damage gets dealt to each individual target, but the higher the cost efficiency per point of damage dealt becomes. In both cases, they will be a bit more efficient than a firestorm when the maximum number of targets are picked (although firestorm will eventually outstrip them for very full fields). This fills a niche between heavy single target attacks and mass CC. SERIES:

[andretimpa]

With full refund the unupped costs 2 and the upped costs 1. I'd raise the cost a bit if you want to keep this same refund. On the other hand reaching the maximum refund is hard depending on what you are facing.

[Treldon]

Where did xray's card go?

Anyway

Spoiler for Loophole | Escape Clause:

NAME: Loophole ELEMENT: Aether COST: 6 TYPE: Permanent TEXT: While Loophole is in play your HP cannot go below 1 if you have all 6 of the "left element" nymphs in hand.	NAME: Escape Clause ELEMENT: Aether COST: 5 TYPE: Permanent TEXT: While Escape Clause is in play your HP cannot go below 1 if you have all 6 of the "right element" nymphs in hand.

ART: - IDEA: Treldon NOTES: Left and right hand are based on the game's quanta panel, so left:    right: So your health cannot go below 1 (which is a major break of the rules) if all these conditions are fulfilled, but you can still lose by deckout. "all 6" means at least one of each relevant element. This combo is available with either having all of those nymphs in your deck (good luck or good job, depending on your harem), or with NQ/NT + RT/Eternity. Having the cards be in either or would of course make it easier to play the latter combo, but we don't want to make it easy, do we? Plus is the element of immortality. SERIES: Weekly Challenge - CIA