Heyo all, I would just like a little input on the wording of a effect I have been working on. It basically goes like this.
Choose a combination of any of these; 3 lands, 2 lands/1 nonland, 2 nonland/1 land, or 3 nonlands.
Then I want the player to reveal cards until the have revealed the equal number of the type or types of cards chosen, then put the first cards revealed that correspond with the choice in your hand.
So for example.
Play this spell
Choose 2 land/1 nonland
cards revealed go like this
land 1
nonland 1
nonland 2
nonland 3
land 2
Put land 1 and 2 and nonland 1 into your hand. Put all other revealed cards, nonland 2/3, on bottom of library in random order.
Basically a effect similar Fathom Trawl effect, but with more control if you need lands.
I think Battlecry is fine, but could be downgraded to common. Being monocolored, I think that the upping of it from 2 CMC to 3 is fair. I also want to put a emphasis on triggering inspirited, especially in white, so I made it sorcery opposed to instant to kinda steer decisions towards utilizing the mechanic more.
Your probably right about Ardent Dralnach being too powerful. I was thinking too closely in regards to it's power level in my format alone, and not what kinda damage it could do with a turn 1 Nettle Sentinel making you opponent face down 6 power on turn 3. I'll prolly drop one on the abilities to balance it out.
Putting land destruction/manipulation at instant speed and on abilities was part of the plan. Although i'm trying to make them versatile cards, opposed to just exclusively hating on abundance.
We already went over the static issue and it doesn't work properly for this reason. I originally had Inspirited as a static ability that was basically the same as yours but ran into some problems. You may not have figured, but some of the creatures that have it sometimes get a power boost which causes problems for other creatures with it. ex: Doofus A is a 2/2 with inspirited that gives him +3/+3 and doofus B is a 3/3 that gives itself +1/+1. At first doofus B pumps doofus A to a 5/5, but then since a 5/5 is in play it should trigger Doofus B to becomes a 4/4. But now doofus A is a 5/5 and doofus b is only 4/4, it drops back to 2/2, and it loops making it not function properly. One option i thought of is to make the ability never pump the power, but that goes against original idea I had for the mechanic and closes a lot of design space. Another thing I thought of was to limit to only creatures without inspirited, but i found that would potentially hamper deck construction a lot. I figured that this was the cleanest way to achieve the basic idea of what I was going for. It does make the creatures a little weaker when not in combat, having down time to be burned out etc while they would normally be larger or have abilities to protect them, but it does help the player knowing that in combat they can't blow you out by blocking and then removing the catalyst creature for your most of your inspirited creatures. I like both incarnations but the one I'm using seemed to be the only mode I could get to operate properly.
Nieria Lossul's ultimate was ripped straight from Life and Limb, so i'm just going on that.
Isamor was sorta designed in the same vein as Akroma, Angel of Wrath, powerful angel which twists the color pie a little. It was a toss up between haste and flash, but haste let him utilize his abilities right away. His original build had him not have either haste or flash, but it seemed kinda weak for a mythic, not being able to proactively do anything but attack without them blocking or attacking.
Yah, your devourer wording would probably work better and save me a buncha in the textbox and is virutally identical. = )
Utopian: I've went down this road before with a similar mechanic and didn't really like it all that much. I think the only way to make this mechanic work fairly and for it to be fun to use is to reformat it a little.
First, all abilities would be temporary, mostly ability and creature buffs, not permanent card advantage or board advantage. This would prevent games that drag on and on due to players just milking their advantage until they just grind you out. Also, reformat the wording a little.
Utopian—If no creatures you control attacked during your last combat phase [effect].
This changes it in that you can use it on combat trick spells to be used on the next turn, which opens more design space.
I think a creature like this would work really well. 1G Dude
Creature- Dude
Utopian—If no creatures you control attacked during your last combat phase, at the beginning of your next combat phase ~ gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
2/2
With these changes, you can build towards a critical mass turn where utopian triggers for multiple things and lotsa stuff happens, but you still do things in the meantime because there is no incremental advantage to sit around and wait for. It can also help prevent board stalls, instead of creating them, no one likes sitting in a board stall forever.
Overgrow: I've again went down this road before with another similar mechanic and had great trouble doing so. As mentioned, this can be a trap for inexperienced players. Secondly, too me their isn't a lot of "fair" design space. Not many creatures I figure should get more than a single +1/+1 counter because the cost is consistent among them (unleash was very similar to this). Giving the buff too much oumph means that the stock creature has to be very bad(ex. Your card Eleshia’s Followers). Noone is gonna wanna pay GW for a 1/1 with no abilities. On the flip side, you card Giant of Slovia is just overpowered. This card would define any standard format, and even modern. Too hard to interact with so early, and hardly a drawback when you design a deck around it. Even on the lesser end, Talon Shrieker is overpowered too, A 4/4 flyer in limited on turn 3 can kill a player in short order on it's own, and losing 1 card from hand not nearly a big enough drawback for a uncommon. While I do believe that this mechanic may be able to work, I think only in a closed environment which has many ways to mitigate the lose of lands and even utilize the lands in graveyard can it thrive. (Crucible of worlds would be a addition and a card like this would be neat) 2G
Sorcery
Choose one- Search your library for a basic land card and put it into play tapped, shuffle etc. or; put two basic land cards from your graveyard onto battlefield tapped
.
Even just this one card in you opening hand accompanied with a few overgrow cards would create great synergy and allow for maximum value while mitigating the risk factor.
In most other formats, I think all fair incarnations of cards that use this mechanic would be more pain to play with that pleasure.
Bloodshed and Possess: Both solid mechanics, bloodshed interactions can create complex decision trees for players which helps them improve their skills over time and makes for interesting gamestates. Possess is nice, a basic value mechanic which helps encourage diversity among archetype viability, specifically reanimation strategies, within the format.
Thats about all i gotta say on this topic, good work though, hope my comments help!
Also, if you have time I encourage you to take a look at my set, I have been trouble drumming up reposes. Link below Elipsia
My reasoning on having it trigger to become inspirited, opposed to just triggering an ability, was to open a little more design space. Something like this.
1W Virtuous Assistance
Enchantment
Whenever a creature you control's becomes inspirited, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
or
G Pump
Instant
Target creature get's +2+2 until end of turn. If it is inspirited, it gets an additional +2/+2.
I have no plans of including something like this in my first set, but wanted to leave the option to go down this road in future expansions in the block.
I originally had Inspirited as a static ability that was basically the same as yours but ran into some problems. You may not have figured, but some of the creatures that have it sometimes get a power boost which causes problems for other creatures with it. ex: Doofus A is a 2/2 with inspirited that gives him +3/+3 and doofus B is a 3/3 that gives itself +1/+1. At first doofus B pumps doofus A to a 5/5, but then since a 5/5 is in play it should trigger Doofus B to becomes a 4/4. But now doofus A is a 5/5 and doofus b is only 4/4, it drops back to 2/2, and it loops making it not function properly. One option i thought of is to make the ability never pump the power, but that goes against original idea I had for the mechanic and closes a lot of design space. Another thing I thought of was to limit to only creatures without inspirited, but i found that would potentially hamper deck construction a lot. I figured that this was the cleanest way to achieve the basic idea of what I was going for. It does make the creatures a little weaker when not in combat, having down time to be burned out etc while they would normally be larger or have abilities to protect them, but it does help the player knowing that in combat they can't blow you out by blocking and then removing the catalyst creature for your most of your inspirited creatures. I like both incarnations but the one I'm using seemed to be the only mode I could get to operate properly. If you have any ideas of how to remedy that, I would love to hear it.
As for Surge, your probably right, it is a little pushed, little to close to revenge of the hunted, a rare. For sure will neuter that.
May 6th spoiler!
W/G Legends and staple uncommons.
Each nation needs a champion, and Palandor is no different.
Isamor, Archangel of Palandor 4WW
Legendary Creature — Angel Knight (M)
Flying, haste, vigilance
T: Exile target attacking or blocking creature. “Invaders, you thought we were too weak and unprepared to defend ourselves. Your onslaught will be stopped you shall be banished back to the abyss!”
6/6
Nearly unbeatable in combat, this quick to action protector is a handful for any invading force. Not only can it lay the beats, it stays on defense double duty, blocking a creature and potentially exiling another, causing nightmares for attackers.
Battlecry 1WW
Sorcery (U)
Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Then, target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
A great enabler for inspirited creatures. Not only does it pump up your whole crew, it singles out one for an extra +2/+2 which should trigger most stock inspirited creatures.
Altai, Champion of Fo’eh 1GG
Legendary Creature — Elf Warrior (M)
Other elf creatures you control get +1/+1.
At the end of your combat phase, if an elf you control dealt combat damage to a player, search your library for an elf card and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. My misguided brethren put their faith in wild beasts they can only hope to control. I put my faith in my people and in the belief that united we will prevail.
3/3
The lone elf on elf interaction in the set, but it sure is a doozy. Pumping your elvish squad while ensuring it's growth. 3/3 for 3 not shabby either. (may drop to rare and make 2/2, testing will be needed.)
Ardent Dralnach 1GG
Creature — Beast (U)
Ardent Dralnach costs 1 less to cast if you control an elf.
Ardent Dralnach gets +1/+1 as long as you control an elf. Given to each fledgling beastmaster to be raised, these Dralnachs serve as a training tool and loyal companion.
3/3
At a stock 3/3 for 1GG uncommon, this guy is behind standards for sure, 2G for 3/3 being the norm. But throw in a early elf and you got a turn 2 4/4. Kill the elf and it reverts back, but the potential is huge on this dude. Early look into the subtheme of beasts care about elves in play.
That's it for today, like always, lemme know what you think!
May 5th spoiler!
Revealing Emboldened!
Emboldened is my attempt to create a simple mechanic with a lot of design space and I think i accomplished this with emboldened. Using a variable number for adding +1/+1 when triggering, in it;s most basic form it can turn typically overcosted creatures into bargains as long as they are able to deal damage to a player.
Blood Knight 2R
Creature — Skeleton (C)
First Strike
Embolden 1 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put one +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
2/2
Going further into the mechanic's development, I started adding triggered abilities upon triggering of emboldened.
Razorfiend 2B
Creature — Horror (U)
Embolden 1 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put one +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
When Razorfiend becomes emboldened, you may destroy target creature.
3/1
Similar in effect to a card like nekrataal, but requires more work to trigger it's ability, this card can have a profound effect on a board state even without ever triggering. It can force typically bad blocks against high power low toughness creatures and plays great defense when your opponent has only one potentially blocker.
The third step in the evolution of emboldened was static abilities.
Flameheart Dragon 3RR Creature — Elemental Dragon (R)
Haste
Embolden 1 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put one +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
As long as Flameheart Dragon is emboldened, it has protection from blue.
4/4
A potential dagger in the heart of any dedicated blue deck, Flameheart Dragon also allows for limited interactively with blue before it gets a chance to really shine. It isn't turning heads in it's base form as a 4/4 flyer for 5, but the haste makes it an immediate threat. Being able to trigger potentially embolden the turn it comes out means that decks relying on primarily blue blockers and tricks, need to be prepared at all times.
Finally, the Coup de grâce, the "ultimate" form of this mechanic, creatures that trigger an ability upon being emboldened and also trigger the same ability when certain actions are taken while this creature is emboldened.
Devourer of Lost Souls 3BB
Creature — Horror (M)
Protection from white
Embolden 2 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put two +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
Whenever Devourer of Lost Souls becomes emboldened or attacks while emboldened, the player it attacked or is attacking exiles the top five cards of their library. Put a 2/2 black spawn creature token onto the battlefield for each creature card exiled this way.
5/5
As you can see, this card is a total beating. Pushed, albeit maybe a little too pushed in the cast cost area (could probably cost 6, maybe even 7, but that's for play testing to figure out), this dude can easily take over the game. Providing alternate routes of victory in the form of creating a massive army to simply milling them out if they manage to survive the spawn onslaught, this creature demands a quick answer, preferable before it's able to embolden.
Being the primary mechanic for Red/Black, I chose to reveal only those color of cards today, but that will have a showing in every color to varying degrees.
That's it for today, like always, lemme know what you think!
Blistering Firebolt 2R
Instant (U)
Delve (You may exile any number of cards in your graveyard as you cast this spell. It costs 1 less to cast for each card exiled this way.)
Delve only instant and sorcery cards.
Blistering Firebolt deals 3 damage to target creature or player. Colossal Surge 3GG
Sorcery (U)
Target creature gets +7/+7 and gains trample until end of turn.
Abundance — If you control two untapped lands, all creatures must block that creature this turn if able. Infuse Insight 2UU
Instant (C)
Draw two cards.
Abundance — Draw an additional card if you control two untapped lands when this spell resolves. Nieria Lossul 1GG
Creature — Nieria (M)
Starting Loyalty: 2
+2: Whenever a forest enters the battlefield under you control this turn, you gain 2 life.
-1: Search your library for a forest card and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Then put a 1/1 green saproling creature token onto the battlefield.
-6: You get an emblem with “all Forests and all Saprolings you control are 1/1 green Saproling creatures and Forest lands in addition to their other types and are indestructible. Qala, Radiant Seraph 3WW
Legendary Creature — Angel (M)
Flying, lifelink, protection from Elementals and Horrors
Inspirited (At the beginning of each combat, if you control a creature with a higher power than this creature, this creature is inspirited until end of turn.)
Creatures you control have double strike as long as Qala, Radiant Seraph is inspirited.
3/6
First Set-Elipsia 270ish Cards
Second Set- Elipsia 2 150ish Cards
Third Set- Elipsia 3 150ish Cards
General Plane History (Separated by Continents.)
Elipsia is a plane with two major continents, Aleria and Badura. Aleria and Badura lived in relative peace between them until the great Abrogation War. On Badura, Demon lords rose to power in the nation of Daatmark, using it's dark mana to corrupt the other nations, then lead them to war against Elipsia. Aleria was not prepared for such a war, and Palandor, the most powerful , scrambled to united the other nations, Itharia and Ombur, in defense of their continent. Ombur, not known for their militaristic abilities, but known for their fierce determination, offered all they could to help. But Itharia, bogged down by its militaristic ambivalence and a general xenophobia of the other nations, was unwilling to commit to a war they felt they should have no part of. It wasn't until things got dire and Itharia's borders were being threatened did they foray into the war. Finally, with a united Aleria, although still with limited support from Itharia, they were able to withstand the onslaught of Badura, and push them out of the main lands of Aleria. But it was not over, as this seemed to only aggrandized Badura's will, inciting a second offensive more terrible than the first. Knowing that Aleria, even with its combined might, could not withstand another continued onslaught, they decided to strike back first to hopefully turn the tide.
Led by Vinel Traten, Palandor's leader and powerful planeswalker, and Dareth Indra, leader of Ombur, a large force of Alerians embarked on a campaign to Badura, hoping to undo the effects of the dark magic the demon lords had employed to subjugate it's people. They found that powerful mana spires we placed in each territory of Badura, shunting the mana of Daatmark into them, corrupting their inhabitants. At the center of Daatmark lied the master spire, which they believed, if destroyed, could lift the hold they had over Badura. After a violent campaign they finally reached the master spire on Daatmark and with what strength they had left, attempted to destroy it. Vinel Traten could feel the dark mana flow through him as they attacked the spire, but through this he realized that the corruption would not fade through this action. With all other options spent,Vinel knew what had to be down to ensure Aleria's safety. He absorbed all the dark mana in the spire and combined it with his spark, using it to hurl the entire continent of Badura into the blind eternities, and destroying him in the process. The remnants of Badura's army were fought off of Aleria and expelled to Inrex, a uninhabited island chain far south of Aleria. Palandor and Ombur wished to continue the war effort against the they remaining forces, but Itharia did not. With Badura gone, and the remnants of its army excommunicated to Inrex, Itharia withdrew its military support for fear of further loses, citing that they were not longer a threat and that the harsh landscapes and its native creatures would deal with the remaining forces. Without Itharia's support, they knew with their depleted forces they could not defeat the remaining forces. With this act of, the Abrogation War came to an end.
Now it was time to pick up the pieces, as Aleria would now recover from this great war. With the massive upheaval as a result Badura being thrown into the blind eternities, Elipsia became a unstable place. AEtheral storms would rage constantly and the planes mana had become more powerful but wildly unstable. Itharia felt that this was Palandor and Ombur's fault as a result actions at the end of the war, and again retracted to its xenophobic state and majorly non militaristic stance. This suited Palandor just fine, they blamed itharia's inaction during the war as the major reason they had to resort to such drastic measures to end it, and wanted nothing to do with them. They expanded their military development, created powerful new weapons and training techniques to protect themselves from any further aggression from the remnants of Badura's armies. Ombur , wedged between the two nations had little interest in bickering, it had its own internal problems to concern itself with. With their leader Dareth Indra killed in the assault on Badura, their nation fell into anarchy. Powerful warlords used new found militaristic capabilities to vie for control of Ombur, resulting in it becoming increasing disunited and causing infighting among its people. For generations things continued much like this on Aleria.
Now, danger rises in the south as unusual things are happening near the islands of Inrex. Strange lights in the sky warrant an Paladorian expedition to these cursed islands to investigate. They find there is a powerful demon there using the inhabitants, the progeny of Badura's exiled army, to open a gateway to Badura, allowing powerful creatures to come pouring through. Knowing this, Palandor marshals an army to send against this new threat, and try to stop them before their strength grows beyond their control. Palandor's military, mighty as it is, proves to not be strong enough alone to combat their ancient foe. With full scale war looming, Aleria must again rally under one banner or face annihilation.
Badura General Overview- Elipsia is a plane with two major continents, Aleria and Badura. Aleria and Badura lived in relative peace prior to the Abrogation War. Badura, consisting of the nations of Berila, Ioa, Rhreeakath, for eons was a peaceful place, with no major conflicts arising between them. The real threat to them was in the cavernous swamps of Dathmark. Dathmark was a dark place inhabited by horrible creatures, and scattered pockets of death mages. Very rarely would it's denizens ever venture outside their borders, and when they did, no major harm would come of it. That was until the summoning of the great demon lords took place.
The death mages, careless in use of the unnatural magic they wielded, inadvertently opened a dimensional portal to another plane, a plane populated by powerful demons. Though the portal was only open for a brief time before it collapsed, it was already too late as many demons has already crossed over into Badura. These demons, master corruptors of the mind, quickly subjugated the already twist minds of the inhabitants of Daatmark and put them to use, attacking the rest of Badura. The other nations were unprepared for this assault and could not mount a quick or significant enough response. In the confusion, the demons lords erected mighty spires on in each nation, and one master spire in Dathmark, to poison the mana of Badura, weakening it creatures mental resistance and making it easy to bend them to their will. With the total domination of Badura, and an army of corrupted servants, the demon lords then set their sights on Aleria, and for full control over the plane of Elipsia. Thus began the Abrogation war.
News of the corruption of Badura had hardly reached Aleria before the attack begun. Badura's army quickly occupied the abandoned island chain of Lonus Stalt, not far off the eastern coast of Palandor. From their they had a forward base of operations who which to conduct their campaign. Palandor, along with Ombur, fought back with a furious vengeance, but even together they could not withstand the combined might of Badura. it wasn't until Itharia, Aleria's most western nation, joined the fight did their initial invasion force get pushed back. But it was far from over, Badura would not be denied, they regrouped and planned a second invasion force, one that would surely overwhelm Aleria's defenses. But something happened that the demon lords did not predict, which would prove to be their undoing. The Alerians mounted a covert counter offensive deep into Dathmark's territory and succeeded in reaching the master spire that resided there. Palandor's powerful planeswalker leader, Vinel Traten, was able to use the spires as a conduit to drain the mana from Badura and transport it into the blind eternities, as a result destroying himself. This effectively ended the war, and ushered in an age of darkness for the entire continent of Badura.
Vinel Traten's final act significantly drained the mana out of Badura leaving it a mana destitute wasteland. This loosened the grip that the demon lords had over its inhabitants, but even so the denizens of Badura remained corrupted, husks of their former selves. Things fell into total anarchy, with whatever remained of the nations former strength being use to try to control what little sources of energy remain on the plane.
For eons this continued, a constant war of attrition between warring factions that brought the continent even further into destitution, which open the door for one to rise. Isanox, the heir to the rule of the Ancient demon lords had risen. A powerful demon, who could supplement his power by absorbing the very life force out of creatures, ascended as a Planeswalker. But due to Badura's state Isanox's powers remained limited, and his lust for energy grew even greater. He wished to travel across the multiverse, consuming all in his path, on a quest of total dominanation . He learned of the ancient war with Aleria and of the rich mana that once flowed through the entire plane and saw an opportunity. If he could reform Elipsia and absorb it's intense mana, he would be powerful enough to begin his assault on the multiverse. He employed what remained of the demonic order on Badura, armed with promises of retribution against Aleria, to spread across Badura inciting it's habitants into a violent frenzy fueled on revenge. He also learned of the perfect vantage point from where to begin his war. On the island chain on Inrex, far south of Aleria, resided the descendants of Badura's ancient army, holed up there since the end of the Abrogation War. He demanded their services, and they were more than willing to abide for a chance to exact revenge for defeat during the war. He used their energy to open portals to summon forth terrible monsters, harbingers and envoys of evil, to devastate and distract the Alerians while he set his plan into motion. He aimed to, like his ancestors before him, plan to use their technology of mana spires to use Aleria's man to phase Badura back onto Elispa. If that were accomplished he could then unleash the full might of his Bardura, and then, once again, plunge Elipsia into full scale war.
Aleria
The major colors represented on this continent are white/green, red/black are least represented and blue an average of the two.
Badura
he major colors represented on this continent are black/red, white/green are least represented and blue an average of the two.
Places of Interest (flavor)
Ombur is a diverse nation, filled with lush grasslands, dense forests and treacherous bogs. This nation is populated mostly by elves, but powerful and unique beasts can also be found in nearly every corner of Ombur. The nation is split into two separate provinces, Fo'eh and Oseri, each housing clans with contrasting lifestyles. Fo'eh province is made up primarily of the Wildthorn grasslands, where the elves have hunted the native beasts to near extinction, and respect little of their land. Oseri province is made up of Fallmere Forrest and the Wildmarsh barrens, where the elves there have learned mindfully live off the land and coexist peacefully with the beasts, tending to them and training them, although to a degree letting them run wild. This base ideological difference has driven a wedge between Omburs former congruous population, which caused generations of civil war. Organized leadership is non existent in Ombur, and when the threat of war once again rises their former zeal and determination is a shadow of it's former self. If a leader were to rise, reunite the clans of Ombur and focus their war efforts their chances of survival would be greatly increased. But for now, only rag tag units from dozens of clans, uncoordinated and ill prepared, fight to defend their homeland.
Palandor is a beautiful place, when not in the grips of war and strife. From the giantfolk populated rolling hills of the Strom highlands, the warrior mountainfolk populated Pyrcrest mountain range, and the gallant, honorable soldier and knights that occupy the vast plains of Palandor, this is by far the largest and most diverse of all the nations of Aleria. Despite their inhabitants stark geological and cultural differences, Palandor is united. At the precipice for most of the Abrogation war, their resolve only strengthen after Aleria's costly victory over Badura. Their intense honor of their ancient fallen comrades instills in them a sense of obligation always be prepared for battle. With their combined might, Palandor stands united, proud, strong and willing to sacrifice all to protect, what their predecessors had lay their lives down to also protect, their home. But alone it is not enough, and another union of all the nations of Aleria, lead by Palandor, may be the only chance it has of repelling the new threat of war.
Itharia is a cold and sterile place, where even a negative thought could cause you great discomfort. From the rigidly constructed spires of the coastline, to the uniform architecture of the cities of the mainland, little room afforded to original and creative thought is evident. Consisting of mostly mages, masters of illusion and keepers of knowledge, and a few powerful creatures under their control, Itharia's populace is small and not very diverse. For as long as records have been kept, Itharia has always adhered to a strict policy of obedience to the ruling power, and any disobedience has resulted in exile. Their self proclaimed "enlightened" existence, and corresponding arrogance has always caused ripples between them and the other nations of Aleria. This has cause them to more or less shut themselves off from the rest of the nations and regard them as little more than annoyances, who offer nothing but troubles. With war once again threatening, Itharia views this as merely another petty squabble between petty nations, nary giving the pleading nations a chance to make their case. All that represent the immense power of Itharia at the beginning of this new war are those who are banished from it, having settled in all corners of Aleria and formerly beyond. This is because unlike their former nations self righteous rulers, they know how real the danger is and have learned that united they stand the only chance of survival.
Located many leagues south of Aleria is the island chain of Inrex, stronghold of the forgotten army of Badura. A treacherous and dangerous place, surging with powerful elemental magic of all kinds, where only the most brave and desperate would dare tread. After their defeat on Aleria, what remained of Baduras forces fled to these islands to fortify and attempt to repel Aleria's attempted finished blow, an attack that never came. Instead they stayed there, continued to dig in and adapted to their harsh elements. They became masters of the elements there, as much as one can master the unpredictable nature of the elements. Living there was filled with hardships and many trails, but they endured. When Rath arrived, they were wary of his appeal for them to join their army, but the darkness instilled in their predecessors by the ancient demon lords still coursed through their blood, and they were eventually swayed with promises power and revenge against Aleria. Now, Inrex and Badura function as one, and from there the first wave of assaults shall commence, a terrible combination of Badura's elite and Inrex's elemental horrors.
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
New Mechanics
Inspirited (At the beginning of each combat, if you control a creature with a higher power than this creature, this creature is inspirited until end of turn.)
Colors distribution: Primary-White
Secondary-Green
Tertiary-Red and blue
Nil- Black
Obviously only to be used on creatures, this mechanic rewards you for having one larger champion creature to support smaller ones. Most pump spells/equipment/auras are great ways to ensure you inspirited creatures are active, but it forces you to use your pump spells proactively before combat to trigger inspirited which can lead some interesting game states. Common abilities are P/T pumps but lots of abilities will be included as well.
Abundance-When this spell resolves or this permanent enters the battlefield, if you control two untapped lands *effect*
Colors distribution: Primary-Blue and Green
Secondary-Red and Black
Tertiary-White
Usable on all types of cards, this is a quasi kicker mechanic with a twist. At a stock requirement of two untapped lands it's somewhat like kicker 2 but with one difference, it's not guaranteed. Since it only resolves the extra ability on resolution. This means your opponent has time to disrupt you, be it disrupting your untapped lands sources or forcing you to use another spell therefor tapping you lands and denying you bonus. Supplementary ways to accelerate mana sources or create temporary will be utilized in most colors to help players get the most out of these spells.
Embolden X (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put X +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
Colors distribution: Primary-Red and Black
Secondary-Blue
Tertiary-Green and White
Using the basic shell of Monstrosity, embolden triggers not on paying mana, but instead on deal first combat damage. Pretty basic mechanic and with a ton of design space I can literally do anything, I've really enjoy experimenting with this one. Also, being able to give you embolden creatures evasion to help them connect will put a higher premium on cards with evasive effects.
Existing Mechanics
Colors distribution: Primary-Red and Black
Secondary-Blue
Tertiary-Green and White
I will be attempting to introduce delve on a set size scale, but I am using it less any of the other mechanics due to it's heavy graveyard support requirement. I am also experimenting with alternate ways to balance delve cards which will hopefully encourage creative deck design.
I dunno why wizards hates shroud, but I think it is a vastly superior mechanic if used properly. Hopefully you guys will like what I'm trying to do with it.
Color Sub Themes: In addition to the main mechanics, each color will have several sub themes, with some overlapping, but mostly color specific.
White creatures matter
Elemental and Horror Hate
Instant and sorceries in matter, especially in hand
Elf/Beast interactions, focusing more on beast creatures wanting elves in play.
Equipment Interactions
Mountain Interactions
To be determined
Thats about if for the design, a few elements still missing and the storyline is current being reworked, but the main core of the set is established. All cards I reveal are still up for change, so feel free to chime in with any suggestions on balance and wording issues. I'll hopefully try to release a card or more a day after my initial reveal. Thanks for your time and thanks in advance for any suggestions you guys may have! Here come the cards.
Good points, thanks a lot guys. I did specifically stay away a straight loot as it didn't fit the flavor I was going for and made it and made the mechanic a little more powerful than I was going for. My reasoning was that almost every deck is going to be in situations, albeit not every game, where they have an excess of lands. Obviously in limited is where this mechanic will probably be more prevalent I think it fits fine into constructed formats as well. Burn decks would almost always happy to dump lands for potential gas as soon as they get to 4 mana. Control decks draw out the game and once they hit 8 lands or so would probably start cashing it. Midrangey decks with ramp also has the problem that after getting to their highest drop threshold, without a mana sink like Kessig Wolf Run it's all useless.
Another boon is high land volume opening hands, as it is similarly with scry, becomes much more appealing and playable, reducing the number of potentially mulligan situation.
Sure there may be times when you can't use the ability, but there are always situations with most mechanics where that is true. I know i'm always kinda sad when I can't kick something or have no targets to proliferate/populate and so on, but that to me is part of the game, you don't always get what you want. That is what makes this mechanic so interesting, it changes your mindset when building and playing your deck and given the right circumstances can be very powerful. I'm confidant that with proper balance of instances, within a set, of this mechanic, it will more often than not be usable.
As for putting it on bottom instead of grave, I just wanted the ability stand as the sole purpose alone. I don't want it to be used to help beef up a tarmogoyf/knight of the reliquary, give life from the loam more targets or help threshold build up faster, among other things. I think scry set a precedent that this type of effect doesn't gum up the flow of a game too much, and this one should resolve more quickly on average.
Flavor pretty simply right now and in early stages. It will be used in a block based on a plane burgeoning with mana and this causes increased strength of the natural elements which if left unchecked, can cause natural phenomenon to potential threaten the civilizations on said plane. This is how the indigenous creatures have learned to best control and utilize this attribute of the plane.
Reprocess (To reprocess, you may reveal a land card and put it onto the bottom of your library. If you do, draw a card.)
Examples:
Flames of Burning 2R
Instant Common
CARDNAME deals 3 damage to target creature or player. Reprocess.
Thoughts for Thinking 1UU
Sorcery Uncommon
Draw two cards, then reprocess.
Just a basic mechanic, a built in semi-loot if you will, that I thought of to help control how much mana a player accrues and to hopefully avoid the dreaded flood. It borrows somewhat from cycling but instead of the card itself cycling, it sorta grants cycling to a land in your hand.
Fair enough, I am also wary of the interpretation issues when it comes to forcing a ability to disregard something about itself that would normally interact with other cards with the ability so prevalently. Another thought I had was to add into the text to only regard creatures original power and toughness when looking to see if Inspired is active, but that also adds another layer of complexity onto it.
only the 1/1 would be inspired. Basically I want it so the inspired stat boost does not factor at all in determining whether or not a creature is inspired or if it can inspire another creature.
Hi all. These are my rough versions of this mechanic.
Inspired X (This creature gets +X/+X as long as you control a creature with a power or toughness higher than this creature, not including this effect.)
So basically, if this a on a 2/2 with inspired 1, and you control a 3/3, both your creatures will be 3/3. Just wanted you thoughts on if my wording accurately explains that if all the stats of the inspired creature are equal or greater than the creature triggering the ability, it still applies.
Choose a combination of any of these; 3 lands, 2 lands/1 nonland, 2 nonland/1 land, or 3 nonlands.
Then I want the player to reveal cards until the have revealed the equal number of the type or types of cards chosen, then put the first cards revealed that correspond with the choice in your hand.
So for example.
Play this spell
Choose 2 land/1 nonland
cards revealed go like this
land 1
nonland 1
nonland 2
nonland 3
land 2
Put land 1 and 2 and nonland 1 into your hand. Put all other revealed cards, nonland 2/3, on bottom of library in random order.
Basically a effect similar Fathom Trawl effect, but with more control if you need lands.
I think Battlecry is fine, but could be downgraded to common. Being monocolored, I think that the upping of it from 2 CMC to 3 is fair. I also want to put a emphasis on triggering inspirited, especially in white, so I made it sorcery opposed to instant to kinda steer decisions towards utilizing the mechanic more.
Your probably right about Ardent Dralnach being too powerful. I was thinking too closely in regards to it's power level in my format alone, and not what kinda damage it could do with a turn 1 Nettle Sentinel making you opponent face down 6 power on turn 3. I'll prolly drop one on the abilities to balance it out.
Putting land destruction/manipulation at instant speed and on abilities was part of the plan. Although i'm trying to make them versatile cards, opposed to just exclusively hating on abundance.
We already went over the static issue and it doesn't work properly for this reason. I originally had Inspirited as a static ability that was basically the same as yours but ran into some problems. You may not have figured, but some of the creatures that have it sometimes get a power boost which causes problems for other creatures with it. ex: Doofus A is a 2/2 with inspirited that gives him +3/+3 and doofus B is a 3/3 that gives itself +1/+1. At first doofus B pumps doofus A to a 5/5, but then since a 5/5 is in play it should trigger Doofus B to becomes a 4/4. But now doofus A is a 5/5 and doofus b is only 4/4, it drops back to 2/2, and it loops making it not function properly. One option i thought of is to make the ability never pump the power, but that goes against original idea I had for the mechanic and closes a lot of design space. Another thing I thought of was to limit to only creatures without inspirited, but i found that would potentially hamper deck construction a lot. I figured that this was the cleanest way to achieve the basic idea of what I was going for. It does make the creatures a little weaker when not in combat, having down time to be burned out etc while they would normally be larger or have abilities to protect them, but it does help the player knowing that in combat they can't blow you out by blocking and then removing the catalyst creature for your most of your inspirited creatures. I like both incarnations but the one I'm using seemed to be the only mode I could get to operate properly.
Nieria Lossul's ultimate was ripped straight from Life and Limb, so i'm just going on that.
Isamor was sorta designed in the same vein as Akroma, Angel of Wrath, powerful angel which twists the color pie a little. It was a toss up between haste and flash, but haste let him utilize his abilities right away. His original build had him not have either haste or flash, but it seemed kinda weak for a mythic, not being able to proactively do anything but attack without them blocking or attacking.
Yah, your devourer wording would probably work better and save me a buncha in the textbox and is virutally identical. = )
More spoilers to come soon!
First, all abilities would be temporary, mostly ability and creature buffs, not permanent card advantage or board advantage. This would prevent games that drag on and on due to players just milking their advantage until they just grind you out. Also, reformat the wording a little.
Utopian—If no creatures you control attacked during your last combat phase [effect].
This changes it in that you can use it on combat trick spells to be used on the next turn, which opens more design space.
I think a creature like this would work really well.
1G Dude
Creature- Dude
Utopian—If no creatures you control attacked during your last combat phase, at the beginning of your next combat phase ~ gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
2/2
With these changes, you can build towards a critical mass turn where utopian triggers for multiple things and lotsa stuff happens, but you still do things in the meantime because there is no incremental advantage to sit around and wait for. It can also help prevent board stalls, instead of creating them, no one likes sitting in a board stall forever.
Overgrow: I've again went down this road before with another similar mechanic and had great trouble doing so. As mentioned, this can be a trap for inexperienced players. Secondly, too me their isn't a lot of "fair" design space. Not many creatures I figure should get more than a single +1/+1 counter because the cost is consistent among them (unleash was very similar to this). Giving the buff too much oumph means that the stock creature has to be very bad(ex. Your card Eleshia’s Followers). Noone is gonna wanna pay GW for a 1/1 with no abilities. On the flip side, you card Giant of Slovia is just overpowered. This card would define any standard format, and even modern. Too hard to interact with so early, and hardly a drawback when you design a deck around it. Even on the lesser end, Talon Shrieker is overpowered too, A 4/4 flyer in limited on turn 3 can kill a player in short order on it's own, and losing 1 card from hand not nearly a big enough drawback for a uncommon. While I do believe that this mechanic may be able to work, I think only in a closed environment which has many ways to mitigate the lose of lands and even utilize the lands in graveyard can it thrive. (Crucible of worlds would be a addition and a card like this would be neat)
2G
Sorcery
Choose one- Search your library for a basic land card and put it into play tapped, shuffle etc. or; put two basic land cards from your graveyard onto battlefield tapped
.
Even just this one card in you opening hand accompanied with a few overgrow cards would create great synergy and allow for maximum value while mitigating the risk factor.
In most other formats, I think all fair incarnations of cards that use this mechanic would be more pain to play with that pleasure.
Bloodshed and Possess: Both solid mechanics, bloodshed interactions can create complex decision trees for players which helps them improve their skills over time and makes for interesting gamestates. Possess is nice, a basic value mechanic which helps encourage diversity among archetype viability, specifically reanimation strategies, within the format.
Thats about all i gotta say on this topic, good work though, hope my comments help!
Also, if you have time I encourage you to take a look at my set, I have been trouble drumming up reposes. Link below
Elipsia
1W Virtuous Assistance
Enchantment
Whenever a creature you control's becomes inspirited, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
or
G Pump
Instant
Target creature get's +2+2 until end of turn. If it is inspirited, it gets an additional +2/+2.
I have no plans of including something like this in my first set, but wanted to leave the option to go down this road in future expansions in the block.
As for Surge, your probably right, it is a little pushed, little to close to revenge of the hunted, a rare. For sure will neuter that.
W/G Legends and staple uncommons.
Each nation needs a champion, and Palandor is no different.
Isamor, Archangel of Palandor 4WW
Legendary Creature — Angel Knight (M)
Flying, haste, vigilance
T: Exile target attacking or blocking creature.
“Invaders, you thought we were too weak and unprepared to defend ourselves. Your onslaught will be stopped you shall be banished back to the abyss!”
6/6
Nearly unbeatable in combat, this quick to action protector is a handful for any invading force. Not only can it lay the beats, it stays on defense double duty, blocking a creature and potentially exiling another, causing nightmares for attackers.
Battlecry 1WW
Sorcery (U)
Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Then, target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
A great enabler for inspirited creatures. Not only does it pump up your whole crew, it singles out one for an extra +2/+2 which should trigger most stock inspirited creatures.
Altai, Champion of Fo’eh 1GG
Legendary Creature — Elf Warrior (M)
Other elf creatures you control get +1/+1.
At the end of your combat phase, if an elf you control dealt combat damage to a player, search your library for an elf card and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
My misguided brethren put their faith in wild beasts they can only hope to control. I put my faith in my people and in the belief that united we will prevail.
3/3
The lone elf on elf interaction in the set, but it sure is a doozy. Pumping your elvish squad while ensuring it's growth. 3/3 for 3 not shabby either. (may drop to rare and make 2/2, testing will be needed.)
Ardent Dralnach 1GG
Creature — Beast (U)
Ardent Dralnach costs 1 less to cast if you control an elf.
Ardent Dralnach gets +1/+1 as long as you control an elf.
Given to each fledgling beastmaster to be raised, these Dralnachs serve as a training tool and loyal companion.
3/3
At a stock 3/3 for 1GG uncommon, this guy is behind standards for sure, 2G for 3/3 being the norm. But throw in a early elf and you got a turn 2 4/4. Kill the elf and it reverts back, but the potential is huge on this dude. Early look into the subtheme of beasts care about elves in play.
That's it for today, like always, lemme know what you think!
May 5th spoiler!
Revealing Emboldened!
Emboldened is my attempt to create a simple mechanic with a lot of design space and I think i accomplished this with emboldened. Using a variable number for adding +1/+1 when triggering, in it;s most basic form it can turn typically overcosted creatures into bargains as long as they are able to deal damage to a player.
Blood Knight 2R
Creature — Skeleton (C)
First Strike
Embolden 1 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put one +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
2/2
Going further into the mechanic's development, I started adding triggered abilities upon triggering of emboldened.
Razorfiend 2B
Creature — Horror (U)
Embolden 1 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put one +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
When Razorfiend becomes emboldened, you may destroy target creature.
3/1
Similar in effect to a card like nekrataal, but requires more work to trigger it's ability, this card can have a profound effect on a board state even without ever triggering. It can force typically bad blocks against high power low toughness creatures and plays great defense when your opponent has only one potentially blocker.
The third step in the evolution of emboldened was static abilities.
Flameheart Dragon 3RR
Creature — Elemental Dragon (R)
Haste
Embolden 1 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put one +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
As long as Flameheart Dragon is emboldened, it has protection from blue.
4/4
A potential dagger in the heart of any dedicated blue deck, Flameheart Dragon also allows for limited interactively with blue before it gets a chance to really shine. It isn't turning heads in it's base form as a 4/4 flyer for 5, but the haste makes it an immediate threat. Being able to trigger potentially embolden the turn it comes out means that decks relying on primarily blue blockers and tricks, need to be prepared at all times.
Finally, the Coup de grâce, the "ultimate" form of this mechanic, creatures that trigger an ability upon being emboldened and also trigger the same ability when certain actions are taken while this creature is emboldened.
Devourer of Lost Souls 3BB
Creature — Horror (M)
Protection from white
Embolden 2 (The first time this creature deals combat damage to a player, put two +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes emboldened.)
Whenever Devourer of Lost Souls becomes emboldened or attacks while emboldened, the player it attacked or is attacking exiles the top five cards of their library. Put a 2/2 black spawn creature token onto the battlefield for each creature card exiled this way.
5/5
As you can see, this card is a total beating. Pushed, albeit maybe a little too pushed in the cast cost area (could probably cost 6, maybe even 7, but that's for play testing to figure out), this dude can easily take over the game. Providing alternate routes of victory in the form of creating a massive army to simply milling them out if they manage to survive the spawn onslaught, this creature demands a quick answer, preferable before it's able to embolden.
Being the primary mechanic for Red/Black, I chose to reveal only those color of cards today, but that will have a showing in every color to varying degrees.
That's it for today, like always, lemme know what you think!
Instant (U)
Delve (You may exile any number of cards in your graveyard as you cast this spell. It costs 1 less to cast for each card exiled this way.)
Delve only instant and sorcery cards.
Blistering Firebolt deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Colossal Surge 3GG
Sorcery (U)
Target creature gets +7/+7 and gains trample until end of turn.
Abundance — If you control two untapped lands, all creatures must block that creature this turn if able.
Infuse Insight 2UU
Instant (C)
Draw two cards.
Abundance — Draw an additional card if you control two untapped lands when this spell resolves.
Nieria Lossul 1GG
Creature — Nieria (M)
Starting Loyalty: 2
+2: Whenever a forest enters the battlefield under you control this turn, you gain 2 life.
-1: Search your library for a forest card and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Then put a 1/1 green saproling creature token onto the battlefield.
-6: You get an emblem with “all Forests and all Saprolings you control are 1/1 green Saproling creatures and Forest lands in addition to their other types and are indestructible.
Qala, Radiant Seraph 3WW
Legendary Creature — Angel (M)
Flying, lifelink, protection from Elementals and Horrors
Inspirited (At the beginning of each combat, if you control a creature with a higher power than this creature, this creature is inspirited until end of turn.)
Creatures you control have double strike as long as Qala, Radiant Seraph is inspirited.
3/6
Second Set- Elipsia 2 150ish Cards
Third Set- Elipsia 3 150ish Cards
General Plane History (Separated by Continents.)
Led by Vinel Traten, Palandor's leader and powerful planeswalker, and Dareth Indra, leader of Ombur, a large force of Alerians embarked on a campaign to Badura, hoping to undo the effects of the dark magic the demon lords had employed to subjugate it's people. They found that powerful mana spires we placed in each territory of Badura, shunting the mana of Daatmark into them, corrupting their inhabitants. At the center of Daatmark lied the master spire, which they believed, if destroyed, could lift the hold they had over Badura. After a violent campaign they finally reached the master spire on Daatmark and with what strength they had left, attempted to destroy it. Vinel Traten could feel the dark mana flow through him as they attacked the spire, but through this he realized that the corruption would not fade through this action. With all other options spent,Vinel knew what had to be down to ensure Aleria's safety. He absorbed all the dark mana in the spire and combined it with his spark, using it to hurl the entire continent of Badura into the blind eternities, and destroying him in the process. The remnants of Badura's army were fought off of Aleria and expelled to Inrex, a uninhabited island chain far south of Aleria. Palandor and Ombur wished to continue the war effort against the they remaining forces, but Itharia did not. With Badura gone, and the remnants of its army excommunicated to Inrex, Itharia withdrew its military support for fear of further loses, citing that they were not longer a threat and that the harsh landscapes and its native creatures would deal with the remaining forces. Without Itharia's support, they knew with their depleted forces they could not defeat the remaining forces. With this act of, the Abrogation War came to an end.
Now it was time to pick up the pieces, as Aleria would now recover from this great war. With the massive upheaval as a result Badura being thrown into the blind eternities, Elipsia became a unstable place. AEtheral storms would rage constantly and the planes mana had become more powerful but wildly unstable. Itharia felt that this was Palandor and Ombur's fault as a result actions at the end of the war, and again retracted to its xenophobic state and majorly non militaristic stance. This suited Palandor just fine, they blamed itharia's inaction during the war as the major reason they had to resort to such drastic measures to end it, and wanted nothing to do with them. They expanded their military development, created powerful new weapons and training techniques to protect themselves from any further aggression from the remnants of Badura's armies. Ombur , wedged between the two nations had little interest in bickering, it had its own internal problems to concern itself with. With their leader Dareth Indra killed in the assault on Badura, their nation fell into anarchy. Powerful warlords used new found militaristic capabilities to vie for control of Ombur, resulting in it becoming increasing disunited and causing infighting among its people. For generations things continued much like this on Aleria.
Now, danger rises in the south as unusual things are happening near the islands of Inrex. Strange lights in the sky warrant an Paladorian expedition to these cursed islands to investigate. They find there is a powerful demon there using the inhabitants, the progeny of Badura's exiled army, to open a gateway to Badura, allowing powerful creatures to come pouring through. Knowing this, Palandor marshals an army to send against this new threat, and try to stop them before their strength grows beyond their control. Palandor's military, mighty as it is, proves to not be strong enough alone to combat their ancient foe. With full scale war looming, Aleria must again rally under one banner or face annihilation.
The death mages, careless in use of the unnatural magic they wielded, inadvertently opened a dimensional portal to another plane, a plane populated by powerful demons. Though the portal was only open for a brief time before it collapsed, it was already too late as many demons has already crossed over into Badura. These demons, master corruptors of the mind, quickly subjugated the already twist minds of the inhabitants of Daatmark and put them to use, attacking the rest of Badura. The other nations were unprepared for this assault and could not mount a quick or significant enough response. In the confusion, the demons lords erected mighty spires on in each nation, and one master spire in Dathmark, to poison the mana of Badura, weakening it creatures mental resistance and making it easy to bend them to their will. With the total domination of Badura, and an army of corrupted servants, the demon lords then set their sights on Aleria, and for full control over the plane of Elipsia. Thus began the Abrogation war.
News of the corruption of Badura had hardly reached Aleria before the attack begun. Badura's army quickly occupied the abandoned island chain of Lonus Stalt, not far off the eastern coast of Palandor. From their they had a forward base of operations who which to conduct their campaign. Palandor, along with Ombur, fought back with a furious vengeance, but even together they could not withstand the combined might of Badura. it wasn't until Itharia, Aleria's most western nation, joined the fight did their initial invasion force get pushed back. But it was far from over, Badura would not be denied, they regrouped and planned a second invasion force, one that would surely overwhelm Aleria's defenses. But something happened that the demon lords did not predict, which would prove to be their undoing. The Alerians mounted a covert counter offensive deep into Dathmark's territory and succeeded in reaching the master spire that resided there. Palandor's powerful planeswalker leader, Vinel Traten, was able to use the spires as a conduit to drain the mana from Badura and transport it into the blind eternities, as a result destroying himself. This effectively ended the war, and ushered in an age of darkness for the entire continent of Badura.
Vinel Traten's final act significantly drained the mana out of Badura leaving it a mana destitute wasteland. This loosened the grip that the demon lords had over its inhabitants, but even so the denizens of Badura remained corrupted, husks of their former selves. Things fell into total anarchy, with whatever remained of the nations former strength being use to try to control what little sources of energy remain on the plane.
For eons this continued, a constant war of attrition between warring factions that brought the continent even further into destitution, which open the door for one to rise. Isanox, the heir to the rule of the Ancient demon lords had risen. A powerful demon, who could supplement his power by absorbing the very life force out of creatures, ascended as a Planeswalker. But due to Badura's state Isanox's powers remained limited, and his lust for energy grew even greater. He wished to travel across the multiverse, consuming all in his path, on a quest of total dominanation . He learned of the ancient war with Aleria and of the rich mana that once flowed through the entire plane and saw an opportunity. If he could reform Elipsia and absorb it's intense mana, he would be powerful enough to begin his assault on the multiverse. He employed what remained of the demonic order on Badura, armed with promises of retribution against Aleria, to spread across Badura inciting it's habitants into a violent frenzy fueled on revenge. He also learned of the perfect vantage point from where to begin his war. On the island chain on Inrex, far south of Aleria, resided the descendants of Badura's ancient army, holed up there since the end of the Abrogation War. He demanded their services, and they were more than willing to abide for a chance to exact revenge for defeat during the war. He used their energy to open portals to summon forth terrible monsters, harbingers and envoys of evil, to devastate and distract the Alerians while he set his plan into motion. He aimed to, like his ancestors before him, plan to use their technology of mana spires to use Aleria's man to phase Badura back onto Elispa. If that were accomplished he could then unleash the full might of his Bardura, and then, once again, plunge Elipsia into full scale war.
The major colors represented on this continent are white/green, red/black are least represented and blue an average of the two.
Badura
he major colors represented on this continent are black/red, white/green are least represented and blue an average of the two.
Colors distribution: Primary-White
Secondary-Green
Tertiary-Red and blue
Nil- Black
Obviously only to be used on creatures, this mechanic rewards you for having one larger champion creature to support smaller ones. Most pump spells/equipment/auras are great ways to ensure you inspirited creatures are active, but it forces you to use your pump spells proactively before combat to trigger inspirited which can lead some interesting game states. Common abilities are P/T pumps but lots of abilities will be included as well.
Colors distribution: Primary-Blue and Green
Secondary-Red and Black
Tertiary-White
Usable on all types of cards, this is a quasi kicker mechanic with a twist. At a stock requirement of two untapped lands it's somewhat like kicker 2 but with one difference, it's not guaranteed. Since it only resolves the extra ability on resolution. This means your opponent has time to disrupt you, be it disrupting your untapped lands sources or forcing you to use another spell therefor tapping you lands and denying you bonus. Supplementary ways to accelerate mana sources or create temporary will be utilized in most colors to help players get the most out of these spells.
Colors distribution: Primary-Red and Black
Secondary-Blue
Tertiary-Green and White
Using the basic shell of Monstrosity, embolden triggers not on paying mana, but instead on deal first combat damage. Pretty basic mechanic and with a ton of design space I can literally do anything, I've really enjoy experimenting with this one. Also, being able to give you embolden creatures evasion to help them connect will put a higher premium on cards with evasive effects.
Secondary-Blue
Tertiary-Green and White
I will be attempting to introduce delve on a set size scale, but I am using it less any of the other mechanics due to it's heavy graveyard support requirement. I am also experimenting with alternate ways to balance delve cards which will hopefully encourage creative deck design.
Color Sub Themes: In addition to the main mechanics, each color will have several sub themes, with some overlapping, but mostly color specific.
Elemental and Horror Hate
Mountain Interactions
Another boon is high land volume opening hands, as it is similarly with scry, becomes much more appealing and playable, reducing the number of potentially mulligan situation.
Sure there may be times when you can't use the ability, but there are always situations with most mechanics where that is true. I know i'm always kinda sad when I can't kick something or have no targets to proliferate/populate and so on, but that to me is part of the game, you don't always get what you want. That is what makes this mechanic so interesting, it changes your mindset when building and playing your deck and given the right circumstances can be very powerful. I'm confidant that with proper balance of instances, within a set, of this mechanic, it will more often than not be usable.
As for putting it on bottom instead of grave, I just wanted the ability stand as the sole purpose alone. I don't want it to be used to help beef up a tarmogoyf/knight of the reliquary, give life from the loam more targets or help threshold build up faster, among other things. I think scry set a precedent that this type of effect doesn't gum up the flow of a game too much, and this one should resolve more quickly on average.
Examples:
Flames of Burning 2R
Instant Common
CARDNAME deals 3 damage to target creature or player. Reprocess.
Thoughts for Thinking 1UU
Sorcery Uncommon
Draw two cards, then reprocess.
Just a basic mechanic, a built in semi-loot if you will, that I thought of to help control how much mana a player accrues and to hopefully avoid the dreaded flood. It borrows somewhat from cycling but instead of the card itself cycling, it sorta grants cycling to a land in your hand.
Lemme know whatcha think!
Inspired X (This creature gets +X/+X as long as you control a creature with a power or toughness higher than this creature, not including this effect.)
So basically, if this a on a 2/2 with inspired 1, and you control a 3/3, both your creatures will be 3/3. Just wanted you thoughts on if my wording accurately explains that if all the stats of the inspired creature are equal or greater than the creature triggering the ability, it still applies.