Faith has named his price, and you have paid. The cards are swiftly dealt, two each. You look at your cards, but they don’t seem to be what you’ve expected. No numbers or symbols the way you are used too. Instead, the cards seem to be representations of ideals, similar to the Arcana the fortune-tellers use in their trumps. Upon closer examination, you realize that the cards are actually based on the on your buy-in, you recognize elements in the drawings, and wonder the meaning of this.
Fate speaks again:
“As you were told, this is no regular game,
Here your own merits you play in your name,
What you bring in, will decide what you get,
And win or lose, it is your own self that you bet.”
He then reaches for the deck:
“And so our game begins, and we must not stop,
Now comes the part which is called the flop”
Three cards are then pulled from the deck and placed at the center of the table. You look at your hand, and at the cards. You’re not too sure how this game is won, but you feel as though some of the cards can go together. Others at the table do not seem so hopeful: At least half the players seem fairly upset in particular. It doesn’t get better when fate put a marvelous jewel on the table and announces:
“Time has come to place bets, for those who want to last,
This round you’ll be betting the memories of your past.
It means who may lose who you are should your luck falter,
But then again, forgetful bliss might come after”.
You are beginning to notice that the tone of Fate’s voice is completely contradictory to the silly rhymes. It's as if he’s not compelled to use rhyming at all, but simply trying to unnerve you. This seems to work: The lizard, the elven mage, the warrior and the metal-laced artificer all fold their hand and leave the table, one after the other. Apparently their memory and identity are too precious for them to bet. Or perhaps it just wasn't in the cards.
Soon enough the turn to bet will be yours. Will you put your memories on the line for a chance at another round?
Challenge: design three cards depicting your avatar’s past. Each may be a person, an item, a place or an action from your memories. However, each card must be of a different type to the others.
I apologize for this round being delayed, if you could be quicker than me when it comes to submissions, we can get to the finals faster.
Good luck!
Player List:
Zoomba
Gerrard's Mom
NVRBLND
Ink-Treader
Ama Burda, the All-Pouch1WW
Legendary Creature - Kangaroo Shaman (R)
Vigilance
When Ama Burda, the All-Pouch dies, return to the battlefield all other permanent cards in your graveyard that were put there from the battlefield this turn.
2/2
Heartbreaking Choice3BB
Sorcery (U)
Choose two target creatures controlled by the same player. Their controller chooses and sacrifices one of them. Then that player loses life equal to the other creature's power. Ama's heart still beat, but her smile was buried with her husband's body.
Heart-Gate Locket2
Artifact - Equipment (R)
Hideaway (This artifact enters the battlefield tapped. When it does, look at the top four cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom of your library.)
If equipped creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Equipment. When you do, you may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
Equip 3
Strike the OppressiveW
Instant (U)
Exile target creature with power less than or equal to that creature's controller's life total minus your life total. "Never forget that there is a power greater than yours."
-Ama Burda, the All-Pouch
Resolute RunnerRW
Creature - Kangaroo Rebel (R)
Haste
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you, put a +1/+1 counter on Resolute Runner.
2/2
Ama Burda remembers her family settlement... Fertile Steading
Land (U) T: Add 1 to your mana pool, then add an additional X mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool, where X is the number of crop counters on Fertile Steading. 5, T: Put a crop counter on Fertile Steading.
The challenges of life in the Bush... Tenacity3WW
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a creature you control would be dealt damage greater than its toughness by a single source, prevent that damage. With Ama Burda's wards, the Bushland settlements came to view croc bites and elemental stampedes as little more than passing nuisances.
And the meditative dreaming, in which she shared experiences and feelings with her husband and other members of their community... Crosscast4R
Sorcery (R)
Each player exiles a card from his or her hand face down. Starting with you, each player chooses a card exiled this way and plays it without paying its mana cost. "It is not we who choose our dreams, but the dreams who choose us."
-Varko, the Painted Shaman
I'm going to send yet another PM to NVRBLND and Ink-Treader, in the hopes that we can get their submissions within the next 24 hours and move on to the finals on Friday/Saturday the latest.
...wow... I feel kind of dumb... hehe, I thought I'd failed to move on.
Time for some quick thinking
Dhat, Synergist Supreme1UU
Legendary Creature - Vedalken Wizard (M)
Artifact spells you cast cost 1 less for each enchantment you control.
Enchantment spells you cast cost 1 less for each artifact you control. “There can be no wrong in bringing artifice and enchantment together.”
1/4
Empyrean Almagest7
Legendary Artifact (M) X, T: Reveal the top X cards of your library. Put all artifact, enchantment, instant, and sorcery cards revealed this way into your hand, then put the rest of the cards into your graveyard. "I believe the record is reading three of the tomes. The lich's spell failed before the pages did."
-Dhat, mortal and terrified of it
Sablecloak Emissary2B
Creature - Human Advisor (C)
Protection from enchantments "How amusing that the events leading to the disaster all started with someone asking me to use my skills with artifice to oppose the Tapestry, the very nature of enchantment."
-Dhat, master synergist
2/2
Fatal MiscalculationUUBB
Instant (R)
Counter target spell. That spell's controller loses half his of her life, rounded up. "I had missed something tiny that day, truly infinitesimal. Everyone in the room died that day, except for me."
-Dhat, master synergist
Spell-Lattice Loom3
Artifact (R)
Spells your opponents cast cost 1 more for each artifact and/or enchantment they target. 1, T: Target artifact or enchantment spell can't be the target of spells or abilities. "I finally saw the folly in the Sablecloaks' ideals, and redoubled my effort in merging artifice and enchantment, this time with the goal of protection."
-Dhat, master synergist
Treek of Ancient Stories2URG
Legendary Creature - Troll Shaman (M)
Hexproof
Whenever a noncreature spell is cast Treek gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is that spell's converted mana cost His memories are the rise and fall of civilizations, his words turn mortals into gods
4/4
Tome of Tales3
Artifact (R)
Whenever a player plays a spell put a charge counter of Tome of Tales.
At the beginning of your upkeep you may remove any number of charge counters from Tome of Tales, the first spell you play this turn costs X less to play, where X is the number of charge counters removed this way. "A story is more than just what has happened, it is why things happen." - Treek
Traverse the Wilderness3G
Sorcery (U)
If a forest is on the battlefield, search your library for a forest card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Do the same for plains, swamps, islands and mountains. Shuffle your library afterward. Each new place holds a story of its own, though they are all entwined in the great work.
Storyteller's Familiar1U
Creature - Spirit (C)
Flying
Sacrifice Storyteller's Familiar: If the next spell you cast this turn resolves, return it to your hand instead of putting it into your graveyard. Activate this ability only anytime you could cast a sorcery. A story is little good without the memory of what its telling.
1/1
Zoomba:
The cleric is sort of interesting in how it affects your deck building and I guess Human is a bit of a drawback, but it seems pretty efficient. I guess he couldn't destroy your guy so he had him bounced instead? The common is reasonable for sure, and interesting flavor. Pilferer's Knack is also something we could see in a core set maybe.
Ink-Treader:
Protection from enchantments seems a little weird here in black, the flavor nuggets are fun though. I can't imagine losing half your life from a 4 mana counterspell; the closest comparable effect is a 6 mana sorcery. The Loom seems like it fails to me; what is the point in having Naturalize cost 1 more and also being able to counter it? Fountain Watch and similar cards just do this much better.
NVRBLND:
I'm not sure why the artifact doesn't tap and remove counters to work. Storing a mana for every spell seems pretty strong compared to similar cards. Traverse could probably use some wording help (maybe "For each basic land type among lands on the battlefield, search your library for a basic land with that type...") but I like the general idea. The Familiar is pretty fun, it would be nice to be able to use it at instant speed though. Also, it's really weird that it can target non-instant or sorcery cards since permanents normally wouldn't go to the graveyard when resolving.
Fertile Steading: I suspect this would end up as a rare. That being said, I don't mind it being uncommon. It's also a hell of a lot more interesting to try and abuse than a storage land! Seems like a nice memory...
Tenacity: It's a pretty cool enchantment... funny how it tends to lack efficacy against many deathtouchers, due to their generally low power. On the other hand, it's like a very bizarre and complicated "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures you control." except for certain scenarios.
Crosscast: Ooo, this is rather fun. And kind of touching, as a memory. Lots of tension over what to exile.
Judge Storwell: Crazy ridiculous long name aside, neat legendary. I wonder, was this man an adversary as he seems, or a friend, as his inability to crush Pyxll suggests. (I'm betting enemy.)
Cast Out: Sweet flavor. And seems fair to boot. (might even be able to cost a mere U...)
Pilferer's Knack: Seems like it might cost more, Aura or not. Still pretty neat. I don't know, the flavor text seems to disagree with the flavor text. Maybe it's just Pyxll being condescending towards another thief I suppose.
Tome of Tales: A fun and exciting artifact. Might end as a legendary, simply because this may not be an effect that one should have access to multiples of. Maybe. It is only the first spell after all. Flavor text is nice.
Traverse the Wilderness: May not be incredible, but it reads so nicely. It really does.
Storyteller's Familiar: I like the flavor, but I must admit it IS a little contrived. Still, it's arguably worse that returning an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand, so I grant that it does allow it to be aggressively costed.
Gerrard's Mom:
- Solid land design that seems abusable but has a high cost which should prevent it from becoming a problem. The flavor fits an Australia themed plane well
- Psuedo-indestructibility, because its so specific it seems like it could probably cost less but I like the flavor as it shows your characters resilience
- Show and Tell for everything, seems big random and red, I like it. The flavor seems like a bit of a stretch as this doesn't seem reflective of your avatar at all however
Zoomba
- Very flavorful and cool card, it has anti-synergy with your avatar which is kind of funny but the flavor fits the world
- I would like this a lot more if you upped the cost a little and had it put the creature on top of the library, getting rid of it permanently. Right now it feels like mill strapped to a boomerang
- Fun casual card and very flavorful, this fits your avatar well and would be fun in EDH and similar formats
Ink-Treader
- A solid common for an enchantment/artifact themed block. The flavor is kind of heavy handed though
- I can't tell if this is broken or not, my initial thought is yes but its mana cost is restrictive its probably ok. It would suck playing against a control deck though that can sit back and burn you with this just by countering spells, not a lot of fun factor there
- This card kind of contradicts itself, if you have 1 mana up they probably aren't targeting your enchantment or artifact anyways, it seems very roundabout
Chapter 6 – The Flop
(art by Raffaele De Angelis)
Faith has named his price, and you have paid. The cards are swiftly dealt, two each. You look at your cards, but they don’t seem to be what you’ve expected. No numbers or symbols the way you are used too. Instead, the cards seem to be representations of ideals, similar to the Arcana the fortune-tellers use in their trumps. Upon closer examination, you realize that the cards are actually based on the on your buy-in, you recognize elements in the drawings, and wonder the meaning of this.
Fate speaks again:
“As you were told, this is no regular game,
Here your own merits you play in your name,
What you bring in, will decide what you get,
And win or lose, it is your own self that you bet.”
He then reaches for the deck:
“And so our game begins, and we must not stop,
Now comes the part which is called the flop”
Three cards are then pulled from the deck and placed at the center of the table. You look at your hand, and at the cards. You’re not too sure how this game is won, but you feel as though some of the cards can go together. Others at the table do not seem so hopeful: At least half the players seem fairly upset in particular. It doesn’t get better when fate put a marvelous jewel on the table and announces:
“Time has come to place bets, for those who want to last,
This round you’ll be betting the memories of your past.
It means who may lose who you are should your luck falter,
But then again, forgetful bliss might come after”.
You are beginning to notice that the tone of Fate’s voice is completely contradictory to the silly rhymes. It's as if he’s not compelled to use rhyming at all, but simply trying to unnerve you. This seems to work: The lizard, the elven mage, the warrior and the metal-laced artificer all fold their hand and leave the table, one after the other. Apparently their memory and identity are too precious for them to bet. Or perhaps it just wasn't in the cards.
Soon enough the turn to bet will be yours. Will you put your memories on the line for a chance at another round?
Challenge: design three cards depicting your avatar’s past. Each may be a person, an item, a place or an action from your memories. However, each card must be of a different type to the others.
I apologize for this round being delayed, if you could be quicker than me when it comes to submissions, we can get to the finals faster.
Good luck!
Player List:
Zoomba
Gerrard's Mom
NVRBLND
Ink-Treader
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Legendary Creature - Kangaroo Shaman (R)
Vigilance
When Ama Burda, the All-Pouch dies, return to the battlefield all other permanent cards in your graveyard that were put there from the battlefield this turn.
2/2
Heartbreaking Choice 3BB
Sorcery (U)
Choose two target creatures controlled by the same player. Their controller chooses and sacrifices one of them. Then that player loses life equal to the other creature's power.
Ama's heart still beat, but her smile was buried with her husband's body.
Heart-Gate Locket 2
Artifact - Equipment (R)
Hideaway (This artifact enters the battlefield tapped. When it does, look at the top four cards of your library, exile one face down, then put the rest on the bottom of your library.)
If equipped creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Equipment. When you do, you may play the exiled card without paying its mana cost.
Equip 3
Strike the Oppressive W
Instant (U)
Exile target creature with power less than or equal to that creature's controller's life total minus your life total.
"Never forget that there is a power greater than yours."
-Ama Burda, the All-Pouch
Resolute Runner RW
Creature - Kangaroo Rebel (R)
Haste
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you, put a +1/+1 counter on Resolute Runner.
2/2
Fertile Steading
Land (U)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool, then add an additional X mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool, where X is the number of crop counters on Fertile Steading.
5, T: Put a crop counter on Fertile Steading.
The challenges of life in the Bush...
Tenacity 3WW
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a creature you control would be dealt damage greater than its toughness by a single source, prevent that damage.
With Ama Burda's wards, the Bushland settlements came to view croc bites and elemental stampedes as little more than passing nuisances.
And the meditative dreaming, in which she shared experiences and feelings with her husband and other members of their community...
Crosscast 4R
Sorcery (R)
Each player exiles a card from his or her hand face down. Starting with you, each player chooses a card exiled this way and plays it without paying its mana cost.
"It is not we who choose our dreams, but the dreams who choose us."
-Varko, the Painted Shaman
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Time for some quick thinking
Legendary Creature - Vedalken Wizard (M)
Artifact spells you cast cost 1 less for each enchantment you control.
Enchantment spells you cast cost 1 less for each artifact you control.
“There can be no wrong in bringing artifice and enchantment together.”
1/4
Legendary Artifact (M)
X, T: Reveal the top X cards of your library. Put all artifact, enchantment, instant, and sorcery cards revealed this way into your hand, then put the rest of the cards into your graveyard.
"I believe the record is reading three of the tomes. The lich's spell failed before the pages did."
-Dhat, mortal and terrified of it
Sablecloak Emissary 2B
Creature - Human Advisor (C)
Protection from enchantments
"How amusing that the events leading to the disaster all started with someone asking me to use my skills with artifice to oppose the Tapestry, the very nature of enchantment."
-Dhat, master synergist
2/2
Fatal Miscalculation UUBB
Instant (R)
Counter target spell. That spell's controller loses half his of her life, rounded up.
"I had missed something tiny that day, truly infinitesimal. Everyone in the room died that day, except for me."
-Dhat, master synergist
Spell-Lattice Loom 3
Artifact (R)
Spells your opponents cast cost 1 more for each artifact and/or enchantment they target.
1, T: Target artifact or enchantment spell can't be the target of spells or abilities.
"I finally saw the folly in the Sablecloaks' ideals, and redoubled my effort in merging artifice and enchantment, this time with the goal of protection."
-Dhat, master synergist
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
Legendary Creature - Troll Shaman (M)
Hexproof
Whenever a noncreature spell is cast Treek gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is that spell's converted mana cost
His memories are the rise and fall of civilizations, his words turn mortals into gods
4/4
Tome of Tales 3
Artifact (R)
Whenever a player plays a spell put a charge counter of Tome of Tales.
At the beginning of your upkeep you may remove any number of charge counters from Tome of Tales, the first spell you play this turn costs X less to play, where X is the number of charge counters removed this way.
"A story is more than just what has happened, it is why things happen." - Treek
Traverse the Wilderness 3G
Sorcery (U)
If a forest is on the battlefield, search your library for a forest card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Do the same for plains, swamps, islands and mountains. Shuffle your library afterward.
Each new place holds a story of its own, though they are all entwined in the great work.
Storyteller's Familiar 1U
Creature - Spirit (C)
Flying
Sacrifice Storyteller's Familiar: If the next spell you cast this turn resolves, return it to your hand instead of putting it into your graveyard. Activate this ability only anytime you could cast a sorcery.
A story is little good without the memory of what its telling.
1/1
Signature by DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios
Zoomba:
The cleric is sort of interesting in how it affects your deck building and I guess Human is a bit of a drawback, but it seems pretty efficient. I guess he couldn't destroy your guy so he had him bounced instead? The common is reasonable for sure, and interesting flavor. Pilferer's Knack is also something we could see in a core set maybe.
Ink-Treader:
Protection from enchantments seems a little weird here in black, the flavor nuggets are fun though. I can't imagine losing half your life from a 4 mana counterspell; the closest comparable effect is a 6 mana sorcery. The Loom seems like it fails to me; what is the point in having Naturalize cost 1 more and also being able to counter it? Fountain Watch and similar cards just do this much better.
NVRBLND:
I'm not sure why the artifact doesn't tap and remove counters to work. Storing a mana for every spell seems pretty strong compared to similar cards. Traverse could probably use some wording help (maybe "For each basic land type among lands on the battlefield, search your library for a basic land with that type...") but I like the general idea. The Familiar is pretty fun, it would be nice to be able to use it at instant speed though. Also, it's really weird that it can target non-instant or sorcery cards since permanents normally wouldn't go to the graveyard when resolving.
2. Zoomba
3. Ink-Treader
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Fertile Steading: I suspect this would end up as a rare. That being said, I don't mind it being uncommon. It's also a hell of a lot more interesting to try and abuse than a storage land! Seems like a nice memory...
Tenacity: It's a pretty cool enchantment... funny how it tends to lack efficacy against many deathtouchers, due to their generally low power. On the other hand, it's like a very bizarre and complicated "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to creatures you control." except for certain scenarios.
Crosscast: Ooo, this is rather fun. And kind of touching, as a memory. Lots of tension over what to exile.
Judge Storwell: Crazy ridiculous long name aside, neat legendary. I wonder, was this man an adversary as he seems, or a friend, as his inability to crush Pyxll suggests. (I'm betting enemy.)
Cast Out: Sweet flavor. And seems fair to boot. (might even be able to cost a mere U...)
Pilferer's Knack: Seems like it might cost more, Aura or not. Still pretty neat. I don't know, the flavor text seems to disagree with the flavor text. Maybe it's just Pyxll being condescending towards another thief I suppose.
Tome of Tales: A fun and exciting artifact. Might end as a legendary, simply because this may not be an effect that one should have access to multiples of. Maybe. It is only the first spell after all. Flavor text is nice.
Traverse the Wilderness: May not be incredible, but it reads so nicely. It really does.
Storyteller's Familiar: I like the flavor, but I must admit it IS a little contrived. Still, it's arguably worse that returning an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand, so I grant that it does allow it to be aggressively costed.
1. Zoomba
2. NVRBLND
3. Gerrard's Mom
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
- Solid land design that seems abusable but has a high cost which should prevent it from becoming a problem. The flavor fits an Australia themed plane well
- Psuedo-indestructibility, because its so specific it seems like it could probably cost less but I like the flavor as it shows your characters resilience
- Show and Tell for everything, seems big random and red, I like it. The flavor seems like a bit of a stretch as this doesn't seem reflective of your avatar at all however
Zoomba
- Very flavorful and cool card, it has anti-synergy with your avatar which is kind of funny but the flavor fits the world
- I would like this a lot more if you upped the cost a little and had it put the creature on top of the library, getting rid of it permanently. Right now it feels like mill strapped to a boomerang
- Fun casual card and very flavorful, this fits your avatar well and would be fun in EDH and similar formats
Ink-Treader
- A solid common for an enchantment/artifact themed block. The flavor is kind of heavy handed though
- I can't tell if this is broken or not, my initial thought is yes but its mana cost is restrictive its probably ok. It would suck playing against a control deck though that can sit back and burn you with this just by countering spells, not a lot of fun factor there
- This card kind of contradicts itself, if you have 1 mana up they probably aren't targeting your enchantment or artifact anyways, it seems very roundabout
Top 3:
1. Gerrard's Mom
2. Zoomba
3. Ink-Treader
Signature by DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Plane Studios