Deathstoker Demon

So here's my submission for the 1 mana 1/1 contest.
I'll go into what I was thinking when I made the card, and why it has the abilities it does.
Edit: Art belongs to hgjart on DeviantArt

1) Originality: Does the card do something new and interesting, or is it just a remake of an old Magic card with a new name and face How did the creator choose to craft the creature with such a (seemingly) limited design window?


I think this is both original and a blend of someone we've seen before. I know there are cards that force you to pay half of your life, and there are cards that make your opponent lose half their life, but I don't know if the two have appeared on the same card before. This card was inspired by this guy: [link] I realize their abilities are different, but I think that Rakdos still inspired this guy.

2) Balance: Based on power level, could the card be printed in an actual Magic set? Does the card's power level reflect its rarity? Does the card follow the color pie, even if it stretches it a bit? Where's the drawback?


I think this could see print in a Magic set, though not every set. There would be no home for this in Mirrodin or Eldrazi sets, because it's in now way related to them, but I believe it could fit into a darker set (Perhaps the upcoming set Innestrad?) Given that it was only a 1/1 for 1, I didn't want to give it any form of evasion, but I also figured it would be very disappointing if you paid half your life and suddenly lost this guy to a crappy Hornet Sting, which is why I chose to give it shroud. I considered hexproof/troll shroud, but figured that would be overpowered, as you could just Distortion Strike it the next turn. Given that this is a build around card, and one that can be extremely powerful in the right circumstances, I decided to make it a Mythic. This is not the kind of card you want ot open in draft though, so that is another reason for the high rarity. I believe that the payment is steep, but so is the payoff, which is something black likes to do. Both of it's abilities are firmly within black section of the color pie, so I do not believe there is any strech there. Obviously the drawback to this guy is that if he never hits your opponent, you've basically paid half your life for nothing.

3) Grammar: Does the card possess correct Magic syntax? Could the card see print without editing for spelling or grammar? Does the word choice reflect what the designer is intending?

I believe this is a very well designed card - at least for the grammar. I try to make my cards rules text as official looking as possible, and I think there's nothing wrong with this card. The flavor text is just for fun, but I think that it fits well with the card and reflects both the card and demons in MtG in general rather well.

Anyways, I'm done talking now, so thanks for looking and your comments are appreciated.