If you haven't already seen it, this is the exploratory design page for the set this is from here.
So, the set idea is a multicolour set, a sequel on Alara block, that expands on the concept of multicolour factions to include multiple colour combinations within each. Basically, there is a two colour 'guild', two three colour shards and a four colour combination that interlink. Think of it when drafting; you start with two colours and then you can move to three or four or stay in two.
As a result of this concept, multicolour design is going to be a very crucial part of this set. The mana base is obviously going to have to be good.
So here is the cards that form the current plan:
Rare Lands
Deadsilent Borderlands
Land (R)
Deadsilent Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Daybreak Borderlands
Land (R)
Daybreak Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Wildheart Borderlands
Land (R)
Wildheart Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Brightwater Borderlands
Land (R)
Brightwater Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Firespine Borderlands
Land (R)
Firespine Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Beacon of Order ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Tap target creature
Beacon of Power ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Look at the top card of target player’s library, you may put that card into that player’s graveyard.
Beacon of Chaos ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Target creature gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
Beacon of Primality ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Target creature gains trample until end of turn.
Beacon of Vitality ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : You gain 2 life.
Common Artifacts
Shinning Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Intricate Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Bloodstained Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Ominous Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Primitive Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
You have a cycle of rares, 2 cycles of uncommons, and 3 cycles of commons as mana fixers in a single set.
Why not just make the entire set colorless? What's the point of even having colors? Would this set even have basic lands, or have any use for them? Looks like trying to run basics is a liability or the only reason you're running basics is because there aren't enough non-basics to go with), a design choice I've always found disturbing.
He's only up one cycle over Khans of Tarkir. It had just as many color fixers, except for the uncommon artifacts.
I see more of a problem with the power level of the artifacts. Scepter of Dominance on a colorless mana rock? Fateseal every turn? Doesn't sound very fair.
@mondu.
As Apoquallyp said, I'm only one over Tarkir which actually had less multicolour than the original shards. Seeing as I will have even more multicolour if not the same as Shards, I will need more fixing. So I have added uncommon mana rocks.
@Apoquallyp.
I just realised the activation costs are supposed to be 1 C/B instead of C/B. Will fix in a moment. The development in general, is of course, very much up to change. This set has even got a set page on CSCD, it's still exploratory more than anything. Nevertheless, these cards are fully intended to be used in the set, and will only be removed or changed beyond immediate recognition if they prove to be wrong for the set later on.
The Beacons are very not balanced. Letting the activation cost vary can help you with that, specially with the Order one. The Red/Green one is really underhwhelming and the black/red one could give +2/-1 so the power boost plays a bigger role. The blue/black one should change to milling or giving 'can't be blocked' as fate sealing every turn is awful.
Everything else looks ok, but I think there's too much mana fixing. The common cycle should occupy the basic land slot for that reason. The rare cycle is very interesting, the best 4 color lands I've seen.
@italofoca.
About balancing, it's good to know some opinions, but it not truly relevant right now as the set in general is still early days. I'm not going to change balancing for a while unless I am pretty much utterly convinced it's wrong.
About mana fixing, KTK had the common duals (same as this), five common mana artifacts (same as this), five uncommon lands (same as this), five rare lands (guess what, same as this). The only difference is the uncommon artifacts have been added to the slots. Considering that KHANS had BETTER MANA FIXING than ALARA which had MORE MULTICOLOUR than it, and that this set will have about as much multicolour as Alara, it only makes sense to add more. Yes, it is a lot, but this is supposed to be a limited environment where strongly multicolour four-colour and three-colour decks are standard things in limited.
I also like the rare cycle I made, probably my favourite of my own land designs, in fact they pre-date much of the set (and the set doesn't have a whole lot to it yet).
So, the set idea is a multicolour set, a sequel on Alara block, that expands on the concept of multicolour factions to include multiple colour combinations within each. Basically, there is a two colour 'guild', two three colour shards and a four colour combination that interlink. Think of it when drafting; you start with two colours and then you can move to three or four or stay in two.
As a result of this concept, multicolour design is going to be a very crucial part of this set. The mana base is obviously going to have to be good.
So here is the cards that form the current plan:
Rare Lands
Deadsilent Borderlands
Land (R)
Deadsilent Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Daybreak Borderlands
Land (R)
Daybreak Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Wildheart Borderlands
Land (R)
Wildheart Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Brightwater Borderlands
Land (R)
Brightwater Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Firespine Borderlands
Land (R)
Firespine Borderlands enters the battlefield tapped
: Add or to your mana pool
, Pay 1 life: Add or to your mana pool
Uncommon Lands
Seaside Citadel
Arcane Sanctum
Crumbling Necropolis
Savage Lands
Jungle Shrine
Common Lands
Bant art: Blossoming Sands, Thornwood Falls
Esper art: Tranquil Cove, Scoured Barrens
Grixis art: Dismal Backwater, Swiftwater Cliffs
Jund art: Bloodfell Caves, Jungle Hollow
Naya art: Rugged Highlands, Wind-Scarred Crag
Uncommon Artifacts
Beacon of Order ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Tap target creature
Beacon of Power ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Look at the top card of target player’s library, you may put that card into that player’s graveyard.
Beacon of Chaos ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Target creature gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
Beacon of Primality ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : Target creature gains trample until end of turn.
Beacon of Vitality ( )
Artifact (U)
: Add or to your mana pool.
, : You gain 2 life.
Common Artifacts
Shinning Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Intricate Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Bloodstained Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Ominous Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
Primitive Relic ( )
Artifact (C)
, : Add or to your mana pool.
-
Thoughts?
RUNIN: Norse mythology set (awaiting further playtesting)
FATE of ALARA: Multicolour factions (currently on hiatus)
Contibutor to the Pyrulea community set
I'm here to tell you that all your set mechanics are bad
#Defundthepolice
Why not just make the entire set colorless? What's the point of even having colors? Would this set even have basic lands, or have any use for them? Looks like trying to run basics is a liability or the only reason you're running basics is because there aren't enough non-basics to go with), a design choice I've always found disturbing.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
I see more of a problem with the power level of the artifacts. Scepter of Dominance on a colorless mana rock? Fateseal every turn? Doesn't sound very fair.
Completed sets:
Iamur — The Underwater Set
Overworld — Pirates vs. Octopuses
Esparand — The Sands of Time
Unfinished Sets:
Siege of Ravnica — Eldrazi in Ravnica
Shandalar — The Mana Set
Iamur Reimagined — Iamur v2
You can find more creative projects on my page Antaresdesigns!
As Apoquallyp said, I'm only one over Tarkir which actually had less multicolour than the original shards. Seeing as I will have even more multicolour if not the same as Shards, I will need more fixing. So I have added uncommon mana rocks.
@Apoquallyp.
I just realised the activation costs are supposed to be 1 C/B instead of C/B. Will fix in a moment. The development in general, is of course, very much up to change. This set has even got a set page on CSCD, it's still exploratory more than anything. Nevertheless, these cards are fully intended to be used in the set, and will only be removed or changed beyond immediate recognition if they prove to be wrong for the set later on.
RUNIN: Norse mythology set (awaiting further playtesting)
FATE of ALARA: Multicolour factions (currently on hiatus)
Contibutor to the Pyrulea community set
I'm here to tell you that all your set mechanics are bad
#Defundthepolice
Everything else looks ok, but I think there's too much mana fixing. The common cycle should occupy the basic land slot for that reason. The rare cycle is very interesting, the best 4 color lands I've seen.
BGU Control
R Aggro
Standard - For Fun
BG Auras
About balancing, it's good to know some opinions, but it not truly relevant right now as the set in general is still early days. I'm not going to change balancing for a while unless I am pretty much utterly convinced it's wrong.
About mana fixing, KTK had the common duals (same as this), five common mana artifacts (same as this), five uncommon lands (same as this), five rare lands (guess what, same as this). The only difference is the uncommon artifacts have been added to the slots. Considering that KHANS had BETTER MANA FIXING than ALARA which had MORE MULTICOLOUR than it, and that this set will have about as much multicolour as Alara, it only makes sense to add more. Yes, it is a lot, but this is supposed to be a limited environment where strongly multicolour four-colour and three-colour decks are standard things in limited.
I also like the rare cycle I made, probably my favourite of my own land designs, in fact they pre-date much of the set (and the set doesn't have a whole lot to it yet).
RUNIN: Norse mythology set (awaiting further playtesting)
FATE of ALARA: Multicolour factions (currently on hiatus)
Contibutor to the Pyrulea community set
I'm here to tell you that all your set mechanics are bad
#Defundthepolice