There are movements on Thanreus's playing board. There is a quickening of the world's heart. Nation-races are coming together and drifting apart as if some divine wind has disturbed the surface of reality. Links are being forged between Thanreus's divided people, alliances hammered. These are no small friendships between people in the taverns; they are being played out by the leaders, by the armies, by the thousands.
Tension has eased its way into every day life. There are soundless war drums thrumming on the currents, and trees hold bated breath as they wait for something that may come all too soon.
There can only be one question: What could be so terrible to have effected all this?
♤♤♤
CHOOSE 2.
I. Create a creature card that combos with one of your teammates' races, either tribally or by interacting with one of their themes or mechanics.
II. With another teammate, create one creature card that is a combination of both races, such as a pair or a hybrid. The card will be used to critique both players.
III. With three or more team members, create an rare nonlengendary set of "elite" versions of each of your races. Individual players will be critiqued for their own card only, but with the cycle in mind.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
I. At least one card per player must have flavor text that is a quote from another teammate's race.
II. Entries can only be uncommons and rares.
DUE DATES.
Cards Due 8AM GMT, Sunday, 17th June.
Rankings Due 8AM GMT, Tuesday, 18th June.
Informational Hazards.
THE PRO TOUR
The Magic Wars is a two-month long event that fires off the Winter Pro Tour season. Because of this, it's a double qualifier - both first and second place will get an invite into the Winter Pro Tour!
SCORING
Players work in teams which they stay in until the end. During the contest, you will be accruing both individual scores and an overall team score. Individual and team scores are determined below.
ROUND MAKEUP
There will be 8 Rounds for the two months. Each Round take place over 7/8 days, with 4 days for entries and 4 days for critiques. Each Round will involve the main challenge, giving you three card creation challenges from which you pick two. Such challenges may involve working with teammates, and multiple players submitting one card together - when it comes to these, the card should be judged the same for both players.
Your individual score is determined by fellow critiques. Critiquing will be done sort-of like a CCL; you'll be assigned a team to critique and then ranking the players of that team. So instead of a Top 3, it's more like a Top 5/6. This is slightly more work but in exchange, giving reviews/critiques is absolutely optional. We want to reduce the complexity of the critiquing system as much as we can so as to make your jobs easier. Your average rank will then be calculated, multipled by 10 and then added to your score; for example, let's say that there are 6 people in a team and you were ranked 1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 4th and 6th. Then your average rank is calculated in terms of points (with 1st = 6, etc.) and multipled by 10 to give you a final +38 to your score.
Each Round will also end with a review posted by Megiddo, Diefi00 and myself (sometimes one or another judge won't be able to contribute, but at least 2 reviews will be made each round, promise!). Each review is marked out of 30 and the average of the three scores will be your team score gain for that Round. The scoring is as followed:
Cards (15)
Teamwork (10)
Lore (5)
LORE CHALLENGES
So, every round has card design challenges, right? That's the main challenge. But then we also have the lore challenges. These will be little summaries that guide how the overall storyline on Thanreus is progressing, and push it to its inevitable conclusion. Purely optional, but they give you some inspiration for making more lore. And we worked hard on it, so don't let us down, okay? =D The lore challenge occurs in the main discussion thread and your team threads, while each Round's main challenge will be posted in a new thread.
THE FIRST LEG
Rounds 1 - 4 happen in June. At the end of the month, the three teams with the lowest team scores are eliminated.
THE SECOND LEG
Rounds 5 - 8 happen in July. Teams scores are no longer necessary. Individual scores are reset at the beginning of the second leg; you get a new starting score which reflects your rank in your team. For example, if you were the highest scoring player in your team when the first leg ends, you get the highest starting score when the second leg begins. This is so that people that are behind are able to catch up.
At the end of Round 7, the highest scoring players of both teams are taken for the final matchup in Round 8. The epic showdown, if you will, with both teams able to support their champions as they've always done. By this point, both winners will have an invite into the Pro Tour; they're just competing for First Place (and more Pro Points). The winner is then decided with a poll; voters will make their decision based on the Round 8 cards and lore, to up the stakes just that tiny bit more.
Pro Points will be distributed as normal, except for two differences: 1) Second Place gets an invite, and 2) 9th - 12th (or however many more than 8 we have) also get 2 Pro Points. Basically, if you make it through to July, you're in for some Pro Points. Ranks will be determined by some nonsense which basically means that the 2nd player in the winning team is 3rd, the 4th player in the losing team is 8th, etc.
Team Conclave critiques Team Consuming Ruin.
Team Wynaut critiques Team GentleMons.
Team Consuming Ruin critiques Team V.
Team GentleMons critiques Team Conclave.
Team V critiques Team Wynaut.
The Magic Wars planned by NotoriousLynx, Diefi00 and yours truly.
Megiddo would also like credit but he's lazy.
Chell, Kestrel Farwalker3U
Legendary Creature- Cloudwalker Scout(R)
Flying
Esferi creatures you control get +1/+1 and have flying. W,T: Put a legendary 2/2 white Esferi creature token named "Avi Avi" onto the battlefield. "I can't believe the Cloudwalkers are so friendly with the Esferi. They've been so mean to us!" --Nalara, Feyrin Ambassador
2/3
Hand of Imrahim1UU
Creature- Cloudwalker Wizard (R)
Flash, Flying
When Hand of Imrahim enters the battlefield, spells you control cost 2 less to cast this turn. Cloudwalkers particularly skilled at manipulating clouds are essential in maintaining those that keep Marenhelm hidden from outsiders.
With the Dream Wisps...
Dreamborn HunterGG
Creature - Guaroga Warrior (U)
While you're searching your library, you may cast Dreamborn Hunter from your library. <Your lifeline magic works even better in the dreamscape, stranger.> - Voice of Change, Wisp spirit guide
2/1
Warden of Ruin3BG
Creature - Guaroga Warrior (R)
Huntsman (Whenever a creature an opponent control dies, put a kill counter on this creature)
Whenever Warden of Ruin attacks, it gets +X/+X until end of turn and target creature defending player controls gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of kill counters on Warden of Ruin.
4/4
U// Sedris and the Traitor Kings U// G Seshiro, the Appointed G B// Vaevictus Asmadi - "I'm 'exy and I know it" B// W// Treva, The Renewerer W// B/ Rakdos, Lord of Grouphate B/ W//// Cromat the Charmer W////
I'm not even sure our team can do two of these challenges while limiting it to two cards apiece mathematically.
I guess the fact that you have to do 1 or 3 means that no two people will have exactly the same entries, was thinking that might be possible.
I'm not even sure our team can do two of these challenges while limiting it to two cards apiece mathematically.
I guess the fact that you have to do 1 or 3 means that no two people will have exactly the same entries, was thinking that might be possible.
Wow that's very true. A team of 5 people would not be able to do this challenge fully.
Ok, guys, did not consider that when I was making the Round, I was just expecting 6 people team.
We're going to change the first challenge! It will be a singleton challenge. It will be uploaded shortly. The Round will be extended to compensate for the change.
I don't want to make it too complex. Plus, a singleton challenge gives players with bad teammates some leeway in making their cards by the deadline.
Ok, new challenges:
CHOOSE 2.
I. Create a creature card that combos with one of your teammates' races, either tribally or by interacting with one of their themes or mechanics.
II. With another teammate, create one creature card that is a combination of both races, such as a pair or a hybrid. The card will be used to critique both players.
III. With three or more team members, create an rare nonlengendary set of "elite" versions of each of your races. Individual players will be critiqued for their own card only, but with the cycle in mind.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
I. At least one card per player must have flavor text that is a quote from another teammate's race.
II. Entries can only be uncommons and rares.
NEW DUE DATES.
Cards Due 6PM EST, Thursday, 14th June.
Rankings Due 6PM EST, Saturday, 16th June.
Megiddo will be giving me control of the OP soon because he's swamped with the Pro Tour. The OP will be updated accordingly.
I have a question... Can I use my legend for the lore as one of my entries? Not sure if I would just wondering if it's an option.
Not intended but there's no reason you can't. Everything but the third challenge. I'm not even sure that's the best choice, really, because your commander should be interact well with your race, not necessarily others. Just remember, uncommon or rare only.
Challenge III, instead of the entire team, it's now 3 or more people. This is to give you flexibility of design (e.g. now it's easier to make a cycle.)
Challenge III, instead of the entire team, it's now 3 or more people. This is to give you flexibility of design (e.g. now it's easier to make a cycle.)
This will make things easier. I will probably still do III, but if i can't come up with anything.
Magnetron Overseer3WU Creature - Feyrin Vaelshi Construct (R)
Whenever Magnetron Overseer attacks, uncover 4, then put all aura or equipment cards that were revealed this way onto the battelfield attached to Magnetron Overseer. Enhanced - Magnetron Overseer gets +2/+2 and gains flying as long as a permanent is attached to it. "If you wish to win this war, I suggest you give us any able body you can."
-Gorahm, Augmenta Savant
1/3
Hand of Court Mechina3 Artifact Creature - Vaelshi Construct
First Strike, Hexproof
When Hand of Court Mechina enters the battlefield, equipment you control gain "Equip 1" until end of turn. "Vaelshii artifice, while disturbing, is certainly impressive."
-Grand Questioner Norlan Evet
Okay, so I realize there would probably not be enough room on some of these cards for the flavor text, but I'm including it anyway because this is a pretty flavor centric competition.
Challenge II
Infested Whelp1BR
Creature- Anabyn Grubblin Zombie (U)
When Infested Whelp dies, put two 1/1 black Grubblin creature tokens with mindleech onto the battlefield.
Beserk BR (Whenever this creature attacks, you may pay BR. If you do, this creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is its power. Sacrifice this creature at end of turn.) "Fascinating. The Grubblin larva seem to have merged with the Delcors' necrotic flesh, forming a living parasitic host. Send them to the front line."
- Golyom, Ventworm Tactician
1/1
^Golyom is an Ayomi btw.
Challenge III
Ruinous Twinlord 3GU
Creature - Grubblin Shaman (R)
Mindleech (Whenever this creature deals damage to a player, that player puts that many cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard.)
Whenever Ruinous Twinlord attacks, put a token that is a copy of it onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. The squirm poured from its nest propagating wildly even as they attacked, merely for the chance to feed.
3/3
Challenge 1
Broodsire Bagling 1BG
Creature- Grubblin Shaman (U)
Spellgorge 3 (Whenever an opponent casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. At the beginning of each end step, sacrifice this creature if it has 3 or more +1/+1 counters on it.)
When Broodsire Bagling dies, put a 1/1 black Grubblin creature token with mindleech onto the battlefield for each +1/+1 counter on Broodsire Bagling. "Their flesh is a resource, my sons. From their death shall come our glory!"
-Yortuna, Warden of Balance
0/1
^Combos with the Guaroga "Vital Cast" ability, just in case nobody from my team posts for Challenge III
Okay so, I'm just going to post all the stories I have posted, because all of them interact with at least one of my legends. Hope you have a free afternoon...
"Broodfather, I must ask. Is this wise?"
"You have spent to much time among the humans child. Do not doubt me." The two Grubblins coasted through a great cloudbank atop a airborne Bloater and all they could see was white.
"None of our kind has ever dreamt before."
Osedax did not seem to move, but his hand had wrapped around Xixiss's throat and he lifted his offspring into the air, dangling off the edge of the Bloater. Osedax's voice did not change, nor did his face. His sharpened fingers dug into the loose skin of the other's neck. Bits of cloud purled about them and their robes fluttered.
"You go too far child. I know what I have seen. I have seen clouds of dark wings blotting out the sun and swirling arout our bodies, concealing us in the night. I have passed unharmed through waves of flame so hot they cracked open men's bones and warm marrow flowed. I have hunted like a young one again, feral white shadows at my side. I have walked through cities of glass that fed me even as I slept. And I have seen the southern savannah spoiled and plentiful with war. You do not know these things yet, but you shall, child."
His voice had grown louder, and he pulled the other Grubblin back onto their swolen mount.
"Yes, Broodfather."
They emerged from a cloud and beneath them the Mountains of Lam speared upwards, sharp peaked and white with snow and rock like bone.
***
They arrived in the night.
The Boneworm coursed through the Savannah of Calyon, tearing through the long grass and toppling the small harian trees. Two Grubblins sat its back. The taller of the two rode in front and his robes were black, as were the dark sockets of his eyes, and the shorter rode hunched behind him, in robes of a garish blue. The clay walls of Tamajal loomed ahead. As they came to the road, another party approached. Three gaunt forms moved along the road, shadowed and all in black. They did not seem to be hurrying and did not even glance at the Grubblins as they slithered alongside them. Their ears were quite large and their faces were concealed by masks. The leader and the one taking the rear wore masks of red polished livewood rimmed with great teeth and the edges sprouted growths, tied into their dark hair. They carried censors hung from chains, and thin trails of incense trailed behind them. The traveler between them wore a featureless mask of pure white bone that glowed in the blue of the night.
The two parties settled at the same pace, silent, seemingly ignoring one another. When they were a hundred yards from the doors a humming sounded over the plains and a light appeared in the distance. The two parties paused. Over a swell in the earth came an odd carriage, gleaming in dull red and purples and moving without any beast of burden. As it neared, they saw saw it was made of glass, twisted in shapes that did not seem to make sense and that hurt the eyes to look at for too long. They continued on and by the time they had arrived at the gates, still closed to the night, the carriage had pulled up beside them and halted. A section of glass opened and out stepped a striped faintly iridescent creature, standing six feet tall and leaning heavily on its great knuckles. Ornate spines sprouted along its back and over its large round eyes. The newcomer stepped onto the road, nodded to the others assembled, then turned and nodded to the carriage, which promptly exploded in a haze of sparks and glass dust. The Ayomi nodded again at this and smiled, then continued forward, followed by the masked procession and the monstrous worm.
They came to the walled city, the sky growing pale with morning, and the gates swung open. A large humanoid, covered in dark fur and sporting a gleaming set of bared teeth, stood with a procession of guards just inside the city. He gave an awkward bow, unaccustomed to the motion.
"I am Karac, leader of Vordon's War-Pack. I am to guide you to His Greatness." The Anabyn's voice was a deep growl, and his clawed hand clutched the handle of his sword as he spoke. He turned and began walking into the city, without waiting to see if the assembly outside the walls would follow. The guards said nothing and did not move.
After a moment, the three dark figures moved forward in their procession, and the luminous amphibian followed. The Grubblins descended from the now moaning Boneworm. The taller strode forward through the gates. The smaller stayed behind for a moment, patting the massive beast on the head. It calmed, and the grubblin turned to the city. As the great doors began to close however, another party arrived, figures moving into the city just as the first sun crested the earth's rim. Karac, turned this time, as did the others.
"We have arrived with the sun. A good omen." Three red skinned folk stood in the square just inside the gates. Scars slithered over every inch of bared skin, and small black wings sprouted from their temples. Their pupil-less eyes were dark and grey and foreboding and promised only violence. The figure in the center was the speaker, and she loomed blood red in the blooming daylight, almost a foot taller than her companions. The others said nothing and turned back to the center of the city, where a squat stone palace rose in the grey dawn.
The streets of Tamajal were empty, but ropes of entrails hung over their heads, staining the city red in honor of their arrival. Their varied procession was the only movement until they reached the palace, where an older, more grizzled Anabyn took lead of the party and led them down halls of cut stone. The only ornamentation on the walls were rows of weapons, sharpened, polished and cruel. There were no windows and torchlight glinted in the blades. They came to a large room furnished with a large stone table of simple build and matching chairs and at the head of the table sat a large Anabyn, the lower half of his face obscured by a veil the color of dried blood. Behind him stood another Anabyn, pure white and tense. Silent as death.
"Welcome to my city, strangers," said the veiled Anabyn. He did not rise from his seat, and gestured towards the table. His forearms bore arcane markings burned into flesh. "I believe we all have things to discuss. You may be seated if you wish. I shall begin the introductions. I am Vordon, Grand Prophet of the Anabyn and ruler of Tamajal and the Calyon Savannah. The Goddess told me of your arrival."
The imposing Ignis Kor stepped forward first. "I am Sor'ehan, Larv Sectre of the Ignis Kor people of Ignis Satana. We have come here directly from the sacred sleep. You all have been in our dreams." An accusation.
The figure with the white mask sat. "We are the high priestesses of Yortuna, Lifeline Guardian of the Guaroga," said one of two standing on either side of her. "We shall speak for her."
"I am Kijiulk, Distortion Lord of the Whorl," said the Ayomi. "I can speak for the others of my race." He sat.
"I am Osedax." The taller of the Grubblins had sat in one of the chairs as well, and that was all he said. Xixiss stood beside him.
A silence spread through the room.
"Well?" Sor'ehan said, glaring at each figure in turn. "What is the explanation of this? How have you invaded our dreams? This can be nothing but trickery."
"You think too much of yourself." Osedax said, smirking. She glared at him, and slammed a fist into the table, and her eyes widened at his boldness.
"I have destroyed cities. I have razed battlefields to dust. You will not speak again."
"This is why you dreamed us, Ignis Kor," Vordon said. She turned to him. "This is why you are here. You shall burn cities, you shall raze our enemies to the ground."
"Your enemies?" One of the guaroga priestesses spoke.
"We share the same enemies, priestess. Those who disrespect us. Those who attempt to hold us back. Our prey. We shall all eat our fill of them. We shall transcend them and look upon them as the livestock-cur that they are." His eyes were glassy and the scarred runes along his arms shimmered.
"And what of our lifeline?" the priestess asked. "Our numbers are not as large, nor our years as short, that we should throw ourselves against a wall of blood."
"I can smell the desperation." Osedax reclined in his chair. "You say you rule this savannah, Vordon. I say you are trapped here on all sides by foes you cannot defeat alone." He looked to the other members of the assembly. "You all seek power, only death holds ultimate power over us all."
"I am your host," Vordon said, "but do not think I don't relish the prospect of ripping out your throat, maggot."
Osedax shrugged. "Perhaps the dreams mean nothing. We are wishful little girls dreaming of princes."
"No Grubblin," the priestess said, "there are too many coincidences. We all arrived on the same day. Within minutes of one another."
"What does any of this matter?" snorted Sor'ehan. "It is a trick. We shall not be goaded."
"It does not matter why we are here or what the dream means." Kijiulk had only nodded in his chair at the speakers, but now he spoke, slowly and with deliberation. "It does not matter whether you agree or whether we can relate amenably. We all know we will do this. We all know this can only end in glorious war. Is there any other purpose for this war? Probably, yes, but Chaos does not follow a purpose and neither should we be forced to. You are wrong friend, the power of death pales in comparison to the power of the unknown, the unpredictable. This purpose can not contain us. This world is shifting into stasis, a slow integumentary death. A lack of inertia. This does not interest any of us. We must progress."
Yortuna nodded and her priests were silent.
Osedax grinned and sharp teeth stretched across his face. "I never said I would not join this fight."
Sor'ehan paused. "What can you offer us?
Vordon smiled. "A new world to burn. Come." He stood and led them all out of the room onto a stone balcony. The white one followed behind him, a pale shadow with dead eyes. Below them surged a crowd of thousands, snapping and yelping Anabyns suited for war.
"This is my private battalion. With the other city states of Calyon at my disposal I can raise ten times this number within a week." He turned to the crowd. "Ravaging Legion! The time for waiting is over! We shall go to war!" Screeches and howls of pleasure and anticipation rose from the courtyard. "There shall be an end to our hunger, I have dreamt it! The Goddess Elnora has…" He trailed off here and his pupils grew large. The others on the balcony looked at one another, then Vordon lifted his head up and let loose a howl so forceful it blew back his veil and they could see his teeth glistening white in the still early sun. The howls grew more frenzied in the courtyard below, and then the vision took them all.
They stood on a field piled high with corpses. Blood flowed in rivulets into creeks into rivers into great dark lakes. The sky hung low, bonfires torched the clouds and the suns burned red through the smoke. Strange lightning flashed in the sky, blasts of crazed energy sounded in the distance, and the very earth rumbled beneath their might.
They stood upon hills made of flesh and bone. Ravagers of Thenreus, cloaked in gore, crowned in bloody glory and the wind moaned in shrieking worship.
They came to their senses slowly. The white Anabyn seemed did not seem to have seen anything, but the grin was gone from Osedax's face, replaced by a look of hunger. Sor'ehan's face twitched and veins bulged from her forehead. Kijiulk simply blinked and looked at his hands and then the sky and Yortuna's face was hidden, but one hand clutched the stone railing. The Anabyns in the courtyard were still writhing in the vision's aftermath, and Vordon turned to those on the balcony.
The sky was cloudy that night, the air wet, and the light of the nebulae could not pierce the forest canopy. A shadow moved among the trees.
"You're late. And you were to come alone." His voice was a reedy whisper.
Three Grubblin walked down the road, two larger warriors following a smaller leader, wearing garish blue robes. The smaller one spoke.
"Greetings, Guaroga. I hope the night finds you well. These are simply some of my cousins, of Urbilix's squirm."
"Must you speak so loudly?"
Xixiss smiled but he was silent. The shadow moved forward out of the shadows of the great oaken boughs. Slender and long of limb, the Guaroga hunter stood a foot taller than even the larger grubblins. He wore a mask of stretched hide and a crown of small horns protruded along the top. His large pointed ears twitched.
"Get out of the road, a patrol is coming."
Xixiss looked up and down the roadway. No one was coming, but they moved off the road, back into the dark undergrowth. They waited. A few minutes later, two Ursk walked into their line of vision. They were outfitted in mismatched attire, one in full breastplate, the other only wearing a helm and a bracer on one arm.
"We should wait until we can find one alone," Xixiss whispered. But the Guaroga was already gone. Xixiss sighed and kept his senses focused on the path.
A lanky shadow appeared before the pair of patrollers and despite its height, the Ursks each towered over it as they stopped and brought their spears to bear. Before they could speak out, the shadow lunged through the night air at the first guard, who brought up a meaty forearm just in time to protect his face. A deep gash opened along his arm and the Grubblins behind Xixiss shuffled at the smell of blood in the air. He put out his hand to silence them but did not turn from the scene unfolding. He could see the Guargoa's weapon now, a long thin hunting knife, gently tapered, and the blood on the stylet appear luminescent in the dim moonlight.
The second Ursk barreled forward to help his comrade and swung its heavy spear. The Gauroga ducked beneath the obsidian tip and brought the knife upwards, cleaving through the spear, and in the same motion leapt up to slide the blade across the warrior's throat. The Ursk dropped the bisected spear and its claws clutched at its throat as it fell. Xixiss could see now that the knife was indeed glowing, wet light shimmering brightly through the bloody blade. The Guaroga turned to the remaining Ursk who swung its spear up with one hand, the other hanging limply at its side. The Guaroga moved even more quickly now than it had, and before the Ursk could react the hunter's knife had pierced breastplate and thick skin and ribcage and had transfixed the massive heart on its edge. The second Ursk fell to the wet dust of the road. Xixiss jumped into the pathway from his hiding place.
"Get them out of the road now, and remove their armor," he said, and the two larger Grubblins rushed into the open and began to haul the mounds of flesh. The Guaroga had not moved from the road, and the glow had left his knife.
"Who are you? You are not some simple hunter."
"I am Itayo, Warden of the Hunt. "
"I see. Well, your duty is done, Warden, you may leave." Itayo only followed the Grubblins into the forest. "Very well," Xixiss said quietly, and followed.
Back in under cover, the pair of Grubblins had removed all of the weaponry and armor from the bodies, and arranged them in respective piles. They stared hungrily at the corpses. Itayo lounged against the base of a tree. Xixiss pointed to one of the dead Ursks.
"Eat, my grubkin, and grow strong. Slowly. Savor the flesh." The two pounced, digging their faces into the open wounds. Xixiss walked to the other Ursk,removing his robes, revealing the pale grey flesh and sickly figure, and stretched his mouth open wide. Half a dozen mouthed tongues slithered out and wrapped around the fallen Ursk's limbs and latched onto its still warm flesh. Slowly, the tongues pulled the massive body into the Grubblin's mouth. The process took about an hour and when he had consumed the entire body, he leaned back, bloated and stretched to the point of translucence. Then his form seemed to condense, then expanded. His arms grew longer and fuller, as second pair of legs sprouted behind his first, and hindquarters developed. Hair began to sprout from his chest and arms and his face contorted. A few minutes later he stood before Itayo, an exact copy of the dead Ursk. He shook his new frame.
"His name was Undegren. His voice was now a low rumble, completely different than the thin whisper he had spoken in. He had even changed his accent to perfectly mimic that of the Gladeren Kingdom. "He had two children and the dead one there was Kralgot, his brother in law." He began to dress himself in the dead Ursk's effects.
"They died well," Itayo said.
"There is no such thing as far as my Grubkin are concerned. They were pieces of meat that died quickly in the dark, that we may war with them. They protected nothing."
"They died fighting for life. Their death will make life that much sweeter. And you have already completed the circle, transmuting their death into your strength. That is a good death."
"Their death will only lead to more death. It is the way of us Grubfolk." He sounded weary. He turned back to the grubblins feeding. One had torn open the chest wound and the other was sucking at the forearm. Their tongues writhed through muscle and tendons and they already looked bloated. Xixiss lifted his now massive arm and brought his clenched fist down on the nearest grubblin's head. There was a crunch, and fluids matted Xixiss's new fur. Before the other could turn, he slammed his other arm into its back, claws ripping out the front of its chest. The ruined Grubblin corpses slid to the ground, pooled dark grey in a bloody soup.
Jagged cuts and bitemarks sprouted over Xixiss's new frame. He lifted the mutilated Ursk body and slung it gently over one shoulder and spoke to Itayo.
"They came out of nowhere, there must have been a dozen of them. They killed Kralgot. I was able to hold them off and outrun them. These two I killed."
"I did not know your kind could imitate so perfectly."
"I am the best."
He grasped the two grubblins by their necks in one huge claw and as he dragged them back to the road, he developed a limp. Itayo followed. First dawn was approaching and the nebulae grew faint above them.
"Wish me luck, Itayo Warden of the Hunt. I go to start our war."
Itayo nodded. "Death is another force, just as life is. Remember this, Grubblin." With that he turned back to the forest and disappeared again into the shadws.
Xixiss smiled and limped down the road, leaving twin trails of Ursk and Grubblin blood that coalesced into puddles behind him.
He was dragged. He struggled very little, his hooves clattered over the cobblestoned streets. His face was beaten and swollen and the cries of his children echoed through his skull, drowning out the smithies and the curious onlookers and even the suns and sky and buildings around him, leaving only the screams, the shattering of smallware, his wife's eyes going large and round.
They took him to a small hut that sat in the shadow of the great outer wall of the city. It was overgrown with vines, and Kiele's Bloom blossomed orange and efflorescent in the deep blue midday shade. The open door was a black hole and they threw him and closed the door behind him. He bellowed at the door and charged at it, but it was thick and heavy and reinforced through with iron. There were no windows and he could see nothing in the darkness and he threw himself at the walls, great fists and claws crunching against solid stone. He did not know how long he was at it, but by the time he stopped his hands were swollen and numb. He stumbled and collapsed in the corner and slept, dreamless as always.
"You were able to keep your form while unconscious. Impressive, worm, although I suppose it would be necessary for this type of subterfuge."
A female voice awoke him. His eyes had adjusted to the gloom and he took stock of his surroundings. The room was was about 30 feet wide and bare of any furniture or fixtures or any sign of habitation. Barred light thinned through the rotted thatch roof, golden and dusky illuminating the center of the room and dust motes purled slowly through stagnant air. The Ursk who had spoken stood in the dark in front of the door and glowed a pale white through the brume of dust and darkness.
"What? Oracle, is that you? I do not understand. What are you talking about? What is going on? Why have you taken me from my family?" Hysteria edged into his voice, and he stood.
"You are quite the performer." She leaned into the light. "But I can see you, Grubblin."
She waved a clawed hand and spread a pair of great wings until they touched the stone walls of the hut and he went rigid and convulsed and collapsed. His voice seized in his throat and veins bulged along his furred forehead and muzzle. His form slowly muddied and seemed to puddle and then condensed and shrank into a grey-skinned bipedal form, barely five feet long stretched out on the floor. The convulsions continued for a moment then stopped and Xixiss sat up panting. The Oracle lowered her hand.
"I have questions. There are more of your kind among us."
"That was not a question." The Grubblins voice was weak, a seedy croak and he crouched in the darkness.
The Oracle sighed. "You are right. We Ursk have no stomach for questioning or torture. My brethren want simply to smash your little body in and to be done with you, to nurse their pride." She turned to the door. "You may enter now."
Three Ursk guards, entered the room each carrying a dead Grubblin. The warriors, walking in a tense stiff gait, piled the limp and emaciated bodies in the circle of illumination in front of Xixiss then promptly turned and left not speaking or looking at anything.
"They would like nothing more than to storm back in here and tear you limb from limb for this defilement."
Xixiss nodded at the heaped bodies. "Is that a threat?"
"No worm, it is a promise."
The Grubblin said nothing.
"You were sneaking them in. How many are there?"
The Grubblin remained silent. The Oracle sighed, and rested on her haunches.
"You trained your minions well. They each swore they were working alone. Or perhaps this is what they really thought? Ah, you see? I am no good at this interrogation business, I have just told you all we know. It does not matter. I found you. I will find the others."
"There are no others."
The Oracle blinked. "Forgive me if I do not believe you."
"I know your reputation Oracle, I knew what you are capable of as soon as I absorbed Undegren's memories. I have taken every precaution to avoid you during the last few days, but I could only stay on patrol for so long, and had to be careful when bringing in others."
"What did you come here to do? What was your goal?"
Xixiss shrugged. "To learn of your race. I can absorb all the memories I want, but they are stale and faded and tinged with the warped ideas of strangers. I like to see it all firsthand."
"You prayed with our people." Her voice was low and hard. "You were toasted for returning that night, and we feasted in your honor. Did you feel nothing?"
Xixiss was silent, and looked at his hands.
"Laiza and the children didn't suspect a thing. In fact, it seems as though any time you did not spend on patrol, you spent with them. Why is that Grubblin? Was it simply to avoid me? Or did the soulless worm enjoy playing family? Why is it you are so good at this masquerading? What envy you must have for those who can feel their own feelings, who can think their own thoughts, those who are more than simply who they've eaten. Still nothing to say?"
Xixiss shrugged and the Oracle breathed deeply.
"You sicken me. Guards!" As the three guards reentered the dwelling, the fading light dwindled, and Xixiss stood in the gloom.
"Did you really think I would not have a way out, Oracle? You brought all of my brethren here within an hour of each other. Did you think I would not notice? I know when it is time to leave." A crawling could be heard throughout the room, a scratching and moving. "You have the gift of true sight, but you could not see my brethren following you for the past day. This is the house you grew up in, was it not Oracle? The outskirts at the edge of town. Why would you bring me here?"
The Guards looked at the Oracle, uneasy but the white Ursk said nothing and stared at the Grubblin. Then the dark shapes began falling from the thatching, squirming wormlike things of tongues and groping fingers. The Ursk guards roared out swung their claws at the clinging shadows. The Oracle made to grab at Xixiss, but as she reached towards him, the heap of Grubblin bodies beneath her erupted and larva, kept incubated in their parents' bodies, latched onto her. Xixiss crossed the room with a quick stride and walked out the unbarred door and stopped short.
In the middle of the street stood two more Ursks, equipped for battle, but they did not seem to notice Xixiss at all. Dim shapes and a nimbus of blue fog encircled each of their heads, and their eyes were cloudy. Between them was a twisted faceless figure. It had three arms which jutted out haphazardly from its body and instead of legs it only had a trail of blurred haze. It bowed its head to Xixiss as he came to the street, and he heard a voice whisper, as though right next to him.
<Come, Lord of Deceit. Your underlings will not hold them for long.> The figure turned and floated down the street, abandoned at this hour, the hour of the nightly feast. Xixiss could feel mana seeping from the hut behind him, and he knew the Oracle would dispatch his distraction quickly. He hurried after the strange apparition, which led him straight to the walls of Glader and stopped, the stone as thick as he was tall, smooth and unscalable the whole way up.
"I cannot float my way out of this stranger, I do not have the energy."
The apparition only raised a hand and touched Xixiss with a stretched forefinger and a wave of energy passed through the Grubblin. He raised his hand, only to realize he could see right through it. The strange figure bowed again.
<The remnants of your squirm camp a few miles east of the city. Good luck,> the figure whispered and then turned and walked into the rampart, dissolving into the solid rock. Xixiss stood alone in the deep shadow of the wall and heard shouting behind him. He did not turn to look, he only lowered his head, and walked forward into an opaque blackness.
The wooded dells of the Lindiere moorlands were deserted and its skies were a perpetual grey and thunder grumbled mutely and constantly in the distance. He and his small squirm made their way through vacant towns crumbling back into ruin and over farmlands rotted with weeds. Sik's towers loomed black and crooked on the horizon. He found a small meeting party awaiting him at the decayed walls. Four Grubblins, in Osedax's black robes, bowed to him
"Lord Osedax has requested your presence."
"Take me to him then."
The tunnels would have appeared unlit to an intruder, completely black and twisting and near impossible to navigate, but Grubblin workers had packed dead bodies into shallow cubbies in the walls, and the residual mana leaking from the corpses illuminated the hallways for the Grubblins, blue honeycombed light spreading down each passage.
Xixiss followed the servant who had spoken to him, while the others were led down another tunnel. Broodtenders scurried through the halls, checking on larva planted inside the corpses in the walls. His guide spoke.
"The Broodlord is in a foul mood. Have you heard the news regarding Broodmother Urbilix?"
"What news?" Xixiss asked.
"She mounted an attack on the Grioskbut a few days ago. It went poorly. Two hundred and fifty Grubblin warriors slain, and two elder Boneworms."
Xixiss barked a laugh. "She is arrogant as she is stupid. Feeding and breeding has always been more important to her than military strategy."
"Yes, Lord."
After several twists and turns, Xixiss entered a large chamber, furnished with lavish sofas and a large ornately carved desk and several colorful rugs splayed out on the floor. The cubbies in these walls each contained perfect specimens, alive but held in stasis, and the glow of flowing mana was brighter here than the corridors. His guide turned back to the dim corridors.
Osedax stood at the end of the chamber, towering over the desk. He stood eight feet tall and his empty eyesockets held no expression. Xixiss bowed.
"Greetings young one," Osedax said. "How did you fare in the jungles of Gladeran?"
"I was found in Glader, Broodfather. Several of my best imitators were killed." He did not mention the strange apparition.
"It does not matter. You learned the patrols."
"They will change the patrols immediately."
"You have planted seeds of trepidation in them then. They will view each other with suspicion and they will be overly cautious. You worry too much young one, you have done well. You have started war."
Xixiss said nothing.
"I am sending you back to the Savannahs of Calyon."
"To the Anabyn?"
"Yes. You will bring your squirm with you and join them on the fields of battle."
"So you exile me."
"I need a commander with a diplomatic approach to be present among our forces with the Anabyn.
The Anabyn will not want to share the kill with our warriors. You must prevent conflict. Besides, your squirm covets only the brains of the dead, so I am sure you can come to an arrangement."
"It is not just you. Urbilix will join the Guaroga. To supplement their lifeline magic."
"So as fodder for their sacrificial rites? She will not enjoy seeing her offspring slaughtered by the hundreds."
"As long as she is fed, she will not complain. After that debacle with the Griosk, she is lucky that I do not kill her myself."
"And Annelixid? Where will you send the Devouring Cloud?"
"The Ignis Kor enjoy destroying all in their path. Annelixid and his squirm will supplement this goal."
"They are each too proud to work with one another."
"His offspring view him as something close to a god, and he obeys only me. They shall heed my commands."
"And who will you send to the Ayomi? Skilsk?"
"No, I shall be visiting New Intuka myself."
"Are you sure this is wise Broodlord?"
"They are skilled in many arcane magics, and willing to teach me."
"And you would accept their teachings? You would become a student?"
"Only a fool turns down a perfectly good weapon for his pride's sake. I have made my decisions young one."
Xixiss bowed again, deferent. Osedax turned to a body in the wall, pulled it out and held it up. It was pale and hairless and although his long fingers wrapped around the entirety of the head, Xixiss could see rows of teeth glimmering in the corpselight. Tongues erupted from the Osedax's palm and dug into the skull, writhing ecstatic under skin. He turned back to Xixiss, the Vassav still in his hand.
"Do you know why the Vassav are forbidden?"
"Their minds are voids. Consuming a Vassav will crush a weak Grubblin."
"That has always been true. But recently there have been the stirrings of something deep within their minds, the rumbling echoes of thought, like a single note thrumming in the darkness growing louder. They have grown deliberate in their actions of late, and their movements have changed. Something is happening young one."
And the wind reamed over the rotted fields, moaning through the decayed stones of the dark towers over their heads, a deep groan reverberating through the tunnels.
Cards subject to change.
Osedax4GUB
Creature- Grubblin Wizard (M)
Mindleech GUB: Exile target card from target opponent's graveyard. If an instant or sorcery card is exiled this way, you may cast it without paying its mana cost. If a creature card is exiled this way, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of that creature.
4/4
Osedax - The most revered Grubblin is Osedax, an ancient member of their species. He resembles an eight foot tall human and it is rumored that he is the first of their race. He is a powerful grubblin spellcaster and can devour spells even as they are cast. One of the few grubblins that is totally fluent in other languages.
-----------------------
Xixiss, Lord of Deceit1GUUB
Creature- Grubblin Rogue (M)
Mindleech 2U, Exile target creature card from an opponent's graveyard: ~ becomes a copy of that creature until end of turn and gains this ability and mindleech. Put a +1/+1 counter on ~.
"Their death will only lead to more death. It is the way of us Grubfolk."
2/2
Xixiss - Xixiss is one of Osedax's offspring who has gained the ability to imitate other forms almost perfectly. He is unusual because he is very close to the other members of his squirm and has taught them many of his secrets.
-----------------------
Urbilix, the Motherlord2GGUB
Creature- Grubblin (M)
Mindleech
Whenever a card is put into an opponent's graveyard from his or her library, put a 1/1 black Grubblin creature token with mindleech onto the battlefield. "My children are always hungry."
4/5
Urbilix - Urbilix, the Motherlord is a grubblin that is the most prolific reproducer of the race. She keeps a large squirm composed entirely of her own offspring and prefers to consume only pregnant beings. She recently led a botched assault on the Griosk.
-----------------------
Annelixid, the Consumer2GUBB
Creature- Grubblin
Flying
Spellgorge 8 (Whenever an opponent casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. At the beginning of each end step, if this creature has 8 or more +1/+1 counters on it, sacrifice it.)
Whenever ~ attacks, creatures defending player controls get -1/-1 until end of turn for each +1/+1 counter on ~. Its shadow envelopes villages, as does its appetite.
1/2
Annelixid - Annelixid is a grubblin that has grown to an enormous size and is sometimes called "The Devouring Cloud". It prefers to float almost constantly (which is unusual because mature grubblins tend to not float as well) and when inflated, is about 160 feet long (about the size of a football field). When it approaches the ground it lets down dozens of mouth-ended tentacles. It is pretty much a thoughtless eating machine, and its squirm views it as godly.
Challenge 3
Victory Crier :3mana::symw::symw:
Creature - Ursk Soldier (R)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under you control put a war counter on Victory Crier.
Creatures you control get +1/+1 for each war counter on Victory Crier.
2/2
Challenge 1 - Suspyr Possessed Warrior :symw::symg:
Creature - Ursk Soldier (U)
Possessed Warrior gets +2/+2 for each card haunting it.
2/2
The Magic Wars
Round II — Alliances
♤ ♤ ♤
A Web Unfurls
There are movements on Thanreus's playing board. There is a quickening of the world's heart. Nation-races are coming together and drifting apart as if some divine wind has disturbed the surface of reality. Links are being forged between Thanreus's divided people, alliances hammered. These are no small friendships between people in the taverns; they are being played out by the leaders, by the armies, by the thousands.
Tension has eased its way into every day life. There are soundless war drums thrumming on the currents, and trees hold bated breath as they wait for something that may come all too soon.
There can only be one question: What could be so terrible to have effected all this?
CHOOSE 2.
Cards Due 8AM GMT, Sunday, 17th June.
Rankings Due 8AM GMT, Tuesday, 18th June.
Informational Hazards.
The Magic Wars is a two-month long event that fires off the Winter Pro Tour season. Because of this, it's a double qualifier - both first and second place will get an invite into the Winter Pro Tour!
Players work in teams which they stay in until the end. During the contest, you will be accruing both individual scores and an overall team score. Individual and team scores are determined below.
There will be 8 Rounds for the two months. Each Round take place over 7/8 days, with 4 days for entries and 4 days for critiques. Each Round will involve the main challenge, giving you three card creation challenges from which you pick two. Such challenges may involve working with teammates, and multiple players submitting one card together - when it comes to these, the card should be judged the same for both players.
Your individual score is determined by fellow critiques. Critiquing will be done sort-of like a CCL; you'll be assigned a team to critique and then ranking the players of that team. So instead of a Top 3, it's more like a Top 5/6. This is slightly more work but in exchange, giving reviews/critiques is absolutely optional. We want to reduce the complexity of the critiquing system as much as we can so as to make your jobs easier. Your average rank will then be calculated, multipled by 10 and then added to your score; for example, let's say that there are 6 people in a team and you were ranked 1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 4th and 6th. Then your average rank is calculated in terms of points (with 1st = 6, etc.) and multipled by 10 to give you a final +38 to your score.
Each Round will also end with a review posted by Megiddo, Diefi00 and myself (sometimes one or another judge won't be able to contribute, but at least 2 reviews will be made each round, promise!). Each review is marked out of 30 and the average of the three scores will be your team score gain for that Round. The scoring is as followed:
Cards (15)
Teamwork (10)
Lore (5)
So, every round has card design challenges, right? That's the main challenge. But then we also have the lore challenges. These will be little summaries that guide how the overall storyline on Thanreus is progressing, and push it to its inevitable conclusion. Purely optional, but they give you some inspiration for making more lore. And we worked hard on it, so don't let us down, okay? =D The lore challenge occurs in the main discussion thread and your team threads, while each Round's main challenge will be posted in a new thread.
Rounds 1 - 4 happen in June. At the end of the month, the three teams with the lowest team scores are eliminated.
Rounds 5 - 8 happen in July. Teams scores are no longer necessary. Individual scores are reset at the beginning of the second leg; you get a new starting score which reflects your rank in your team. For example, if you were the highest scoring player in your team when the first leg ends, you get the highest starting score when the second leg begins. This is so that people that are behind are able to catch up.
At the end of Round 7, the highest scoring players of both teams are taken for the final matchup in Round 8. The epic showdown, if you will, with both teams able to support their champions as they've always done. By this point, both winners will have an invite into the Pro Tour; they're just competing for First Place (and more Pro Points). The winner is then decided with a poll; voters will make their decision based on the Round 8 cards and lore, to up the stakes just that tiny bit more.
Pro Points will be distributed as normal, except for two differences: 1) Second Place gets an invite, and 2) 9th - 12th (or however many more than 8 we have) also get 2 Pro Points. Basically, if you make it through to July, you're in for some Pro Points. Ranks will be determined by some nonsense which basically means that the 2nd player in the winning team is 3rd, the 4th player in the losing team is 8th, etc.
Team X — Team Score
Name, Race — Individual Score
Team Conclave — 25
Achren, Esferi — 32
Jimmy Groove, Annaki — 30
Komachi, Feyrin — 26
KoolKoal, Platyns — 46
Link, Cloudwalkers — 36
Small Child, Vaelshii — 40
Team Wynaut — 28
Atrius, Pamantine — 23
Balefire, Asura — 45
CrustaceanCrusader, Vassav — 50
DeusofCalamity, Lefari — 20
Gallus, Lepith — 27
Ninja Caterpie, Lisandarians — 45
Team Consuming Ruin — 27.5
Prophylaxis, Dream Wisps — 57
queensauce, Guaroga — 29
Random_Nation, Anabyn — 37
Raziel_X007223, Ignis Kor — 13
UncleIstvan, Grubblins — 43
void_nothing, Ayomis — 32
Team GentleMons — 28
avatarz, Suspyrs — 22
Cardz5000, Ursk — 26
Flabort, Onites — 18
Gerrard's Mom, Pods — 44
Rithaniel, Griosk — 40
Team V — 26.5
CoiLic, Atceras — 12
Emocakes, Delthran — 46
Eskimo_Rage, Celestials — 32
Lordschuft, Lrin — 46
MirrorEntity, Reltathri — 34
Trabant777, Philerians — 40
Team Conclave critiques Team Consuming Ruin.
Team Wynaut critiques Team GentleMons.
Team Consuming Ruin critiques Team V.
Team GentleMons critiques Team Conclave.
Team V critiques Team Wynaut.
Megiddo would also like credit but he's lazy.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Legendary Creature- Cloudwalker Scout(R)
Flying
Esferi creatures you control get +1/+1 and have flying.
W,T: Put a legendary 2/2 white Esferi creature token named "Avi Avi" onto the battlefield.
"I can't believe the Cloudwalkers are so friendly with the Esferi. They've been so mean to us!" --Nalara, Feyrin Ambassador
Creature- Cloudwalker Wizard (R)
Flash, Flying
When Hand of Imrahim enters the battlefield, spells you control cost 2 less to cast this turn.
Cloudwalkers particularly skilled at manipulating clouds are essential in maintaining those that keep Marenhelm hidden from outsiders.
With the Dream Wisps...
Dreamborn Hunter GG
Creature - Guaroga Warrior (U)
While you're searching your library, you may cast Dreamborn Hunter from your library.
<Your lifeline magic works even better in the dreamscape, stranger.> - Voice of Change, Wisp spirit guide
2/1
Warden of Ruin 3BG
Creature - Guaroga Warrior (R)
Huntsman (Whenever a creature an opponent control dies, put a kill counter on this creature)
Whenever Warden of Ruin attacks, it gets +X/+X until end of turn and target creature defending player controls gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of kill counters on Warden of Ruin.
4/4
placeholder
Custom Race: Guaroga
G Seshiro, the Appointed G
B// Vaevictus Asmadi - "I'm 'exy and I know it" B//
W// Treva, The Renewerer W//
B/ Rakdos, Lord of Grouphate B/
W//// Cromat the Charmer W////
((How about it, guys? To III, or not to 3?))
Challenge II
WIP, working with team mate
Creature - Onite Pod
???
2/2
Challenge III
WIP G
Creature - Onite
???
?/?
Lore Card
WIP
Legendary Creature - Pod
???
?/?
Ashamed of posts from years ago.
The Anabyn
Stay Hungry My Friends....
For 1 and 2, do we have to use different teammates?
^
oh, nevermind.
You can. But you don't have to.
I guess the fact that you have to do 1 or 3 means that no two people will have exactly the same entries, was thinking that might be possible.
Wow that's very true. A team of 5 people would not be able to do this challenge fully.
Ok, guys, did not consider that when I was making the Round, I was just expecting 6 people team.
We're going to change the first challenge! It will be a singleton challenge. It will be uploaded shortly. The Round will be extended to compensate for the change.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Ok, new challenges:
Cards Due 6PM EST, Thursday, 14th June.
Rankings Due 6PM EST, Saturday, 16th June.
Megiddo will be giving me control of the OP soon because he's swamped with the Pro Tour. The OP will be updated accordingly.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Not intended but there's no reason you can't. Everything but the third challenge. I'm not even sure that's the best choice, really, because your commander should be interact well with your race, not necessarily others. Just remember, uncommon or rare only.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Challenge III, instead of the entire team, it's now 3 or more people. This is to give you flexibility of design (e.g. now it's easier to make a cycle.)
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
This will make things easier. I will probably still do III, but if i can't come up with anything.
Ashamed of posts from years ago.
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
The Winner is Judge | 7
This Winner is Also Judge | 6
Club Flamingo | Lots
All updated.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
Creature - Feyrin Vaelshi Construct (R)
Whenever Magnetron Overseer attacks, uncover 4, then put all aura or equipment cards that were revealed this way onto the battelfield attached to Magnetron Overseer.
Enhanced - Magnetron Overseer gets +2/+2 and gains flying as long as a permanent is attached to it.
"If you wish to win this war, I suggest you give us any able body you can."
-Gorahm, Augmenta Savant
Artifact Creature - Vaelshi Construct
First Strike, Hexproof
When Hand of Court Mechina enters the battlefield, equipment you control gain "Equip 1" until end of turn.
"Vaelshii artifice, while disturbing, is certainly impressive."
-Grand Questioner Norlan Evet
Generals meant to be drafted first in a single pack of 6 cards.
And here is the actual cube, meant to be drafted in 4 regular sized packs. (60 card decks)
Challenge II
Creature- Anabyn Grubblin Zombie (U)
When Infested Whelp dies, put two 1/1 black Grubblin creature tokens with mindleech onto the battlefield.
Beserk BR (Whenever this creature attacks, you may pay BR. If you do, this creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is its power. Sacrifice this creature at end of turn.)
"Fascinating. The Grubblin larva seem to have merged with the Delcors' necrotic flesh, forming a living parasitic host. Send them to the front line."
- Golyom, Ventworm Tactician
1/1
^Golyom is an Ayomi btw.
Challenge III
Creature - Grubblin Shaman (R)
Mindleech (Whenever this creature deals damage to a player, that player puts that many cards from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard.)
Whenever Ruinous Twinlord attacks, put a token that is a copy of it onto the battlefield tapped and attacking.
The squirm poured from its nest propagating wildly even as they attacked, merely for the chance to feed.
3/3
Challenge 1
Creature- Grubblin Shaman (U)
Spellgorge 3 (Whenever an opponent casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. At the beginning of each end step, sacrifice this creature if it has 3 or more +1/+1 counters on it.)
When Broodsire Bagling dies, put a 1/1 black Grubblin creature token with mindleech onto the battlefield for each +1/+1 counter on Broodsire Bagling.
"Their flesh is a resource, my sons. From their death shall come our glory!"
-Yortuna, Warden of Balance
0/1
^Combos with the Guaroga "Vital Cast" ability, just in case nobody from my team posts for Challenge III
Okay so, I'm just going to post all the stories I have posted, because all of them interact with at least one of my legends. Hope you have a free afternoon...
"Broodfather, I must ask. Is this wise?"
"You have spent to much time among the humans child. Do not doubt me." The two Grubblins coasted through a great cloudbank atop a airborne Bloater and all they could see was white.
"None of our kind has ever dreamt before."
Osedax did not seem to move, but his hand had wrapped around Xixiss's throat and he lifted his offspring into the air, dangling off the edge of the Bloater. Osedax's voice did not change, nor did his face. His sharpened fingers dug into the loose skin of the other's neck. Bits of cloud purled about them and their robes fluttered.
"You go too far child. I know what I have seen. I have seen clouds of dark wings blotting out the sun and swirling arout our bodies, concealing us in the night. I have passed unharmed through waves of flame so hot they cracked open men's bones and warm marrow flowed. I have hunted like a young one again, feral white shadows at my side. I have walked through cities of glass that fed me even as I slept. And I have seen the southern savannah spoiled and plentiful with war. You do not know these things yet, but you shall, child."
His voice had grown louder, and he pulled the other Grubblin back onto their swolen mount.
"Yes, Broodfather."
They emerged from a cloud and beneath them the Mountains of Lam speared upwards, sharp peaked and white with snow and rock like bone.
They arrived in the night.
The Boneworm coursed through the Savannah of Calyon, tearing through the long grass and toppling the small harian trees. Two Grubblins sat its back. The taller of the two rode in front and his robes were black, as were the dark sockets of his eyes, and the shorter rode hunched behind him, in robes of a garish blue. The clay walls of Tamajal loomed ahead. As they came to the road, another party approached. Three gaunt forms moved along the road, shadowed and all in black. They did not seem to be hurrying and did not even glance at the Grubblins as they slithered alongside them. Their ears were quite large and their faces were concealed by masks. The leader and the one taking the rear wore masks of red polished livewood rimmed with great teeth and the edges sprouted growths, tied into their dark hair. They carried censors hung from chains, and thin trails of incense trailed behind them. The traveler between them wore a featureless mask of pure white bone that glowed in the blue of the night.
The two parties settled at the same pace, silent, seemingly ignoring one another. When they were a hundred yards from the doors a humming sounded over the plains and a light appeared in the distance. The two parties paused. Over a swell in the earth came an odd carriage, gleaming in dull red and purples and moving without any beast of burden. As it neared, they saw saw it was made of glass, twisted in shapes that did not seem to make sense and that hurt the eyes to look at for too long. They continued on and by the time they had arrived at the gates, still closed to the night, the carriage had pulled up beside them and halted. A section of glass opened and out stepped a striped faintly iridescent creature, standing six feet tall and leaning heavily on its great knuckles. Ornate spines sprouted along its back and over its large round eyes. The newcomer stepped onto the road, nodded to the others assembled, then turned and nodded to the carriage, which promptly exploded in a haze of sparks and glass dust. The Ayomi nodded again at this and smiled, then continued forward, followed by the masked procession and the monstrous worm.
They came to the walled city, the sky growing pale with morning, and the gates swung open. A large humanoid, covered in dark fur and sporting a gleaming set of bared teeth, stood with a procession of guards just inside the city. He gave an awkward bow, unaccustomed to the motion.
"I am Karac, leader of Vordon's War-Pack. I am to guide you to His Greatness." The Anabyn's voice was a deep growl, and his clawed hand clutched the handle of his sword as he spoke. He turned and began walking into the city, without waiting to see if the assembly outside the walls would follow. The guards said nothing and did not move.
After a moment, the three dark figures moved forward in their procession, and the luminous amphibian followed. The Grubblins descended from the now moaning Boneworm. The taller strode forward through the gates. The smaller stayed behind for a moment, patting the massive beast on the head. It calmed, and the grubblin turned to the city. As the great doors began to close however, another party arrived, figures moving into the city just as the first sun crested the earth's rim. Karac, turned this time, as did the others.
"We have arrived with the sun. A good omen." Three red skinned folk stood in the square just inside the gates. Scars slithered over every inch of bared skin, and small black wings sprouted from their temples. Their pupil-less eyes were dark and grey and foreboding and promised only violence. The figure in the center was the speaker, and she loomed blood red in the blooming daylight, almost a foot taller than her companions. The others said nothing and turned back to the center of the city, where a squat stone palace rose in the grey dawn.
The streets of Tamajal were empty, but ropes of entrails hung over their heads, staining the city red in honor of their arrival. Their varied procession was the only movement until they reached the palace, where an older, more grizzled Anabyn took lead of the party and led them down halls of cut stone. The only ornamentation on the walls were rows of weapons, sharpened, polished and cruel. There were no windows and torchlight glinted in the blades. They came to a large room furnished with a large stone table of simple build and matching chairs and at the head of the table sat a large Anabyn, the lower half of his face obscured by a veil the color of dried blood. Behind him stood another Anabyn, pure white and tense. Silent as death.
"Welcome to my city, strangers," said the veiled Anabyn. He did not rise from his seat, and gestured towards the table. His forearms bore arcane markings burned into flesh. "I believe we all have things to discuss. You may be seated if you wish. I shall begin the introductions. I am Vordon, Grand Prophet of the Anabyn and ruler of Tamajal and the Calyon Savannah. The Goddess told me of your arrival."
The imposing Ignis Kor stepped forward first. "I am Sor'ehan, Larv Sectre of the Ignis Kor people of Ignis Satana. We have come here directly from the sacred sleep. You all have been in our dreams." An accusation.
The figure with the white mask sat. "We are the high priestesses of Yortuna, Lifeline Guardian of the Guaroga," said one of two standing on either side of her. "We shall speak for her."
"I am Kijiulk, Distortion Lord of the Whorl," said the Ayomi. "I can speak for the others of my race." He sat.
"I am Osedax." The taller of the Grubblins had sat in one of the chairs as well, and that was all he said. Xixiss stood beside him.
A silence spread through the room.
"Well?" Sor'ehan said, glaring at each figure in turn. "What is the explanation of this? How have you invaded our dreams? This can be nothing but trickery."
"You think too much of yourself." Osedax said, smirking. She glared at him, and slammed a fist into the table, and her eyes widened at his boldness.
"I have destroyed cities. I have razed battlefields to dust. You will not speak again."
"This is why you dreamed us, Ignis Kor," Vordon said. She turned to him. "This is why you are here. You shall burn cities, you shall raze our enemies to the ground."
"Your enemies?" One of the guaroga priestesses spoke.
"We share the same enemies, priestess. Those who disrespect us. Those who attempt to hold us back. Our prey. We shall all eat our fill of them. We shall transcend them and look upon them as the livestock-cur that they are." His eyes were glassy and the scarred runes along his arms shimmered.
"And what of our lifeline?" the priestess asked. "Our numbers are not as large, nor our years as short, that we should throw ourselves against a wall of blood."
"I can smell the desperation." Osedax reclined in his chair. "You say you rule this savannah, Vordon. I say you are trapped here on all sides by foes you cannot defeat alone." He looked to the other members of the assembly. "You all seek power, only death holds ultimate power over us all."
"I am your host," Vordon said, "but do not think I don't relish the prospect of ripping out your throat, maggot."
Osedax shrugged. "Perhaps the dreams mean nothing. We are wishful little girls dreaming of princes."
"No Grubblin," the priestess said, "there are too many coincidences. We all arrived on the same day. Within minutes of one another."
"What does any of this matter?" snorted Sor'ehan. "It is a trick. We shall not be goaded."
"It does not matter why we are here or what the dream means." Kijiulk had only nodded in his chair at the speakers, but now he spoke, slowly and with deliberation. "It does not matter whether you agree or whether we can relate amenably. We all know we will do this. We all know this can only end in glorious war. Is there any other purpose for this war? Probably, yes, but Chaos does not follow a purpose and neither should we be forced to. You are wrong friend, the power of death pales in comparison to the power of the unknown, the unpredictable. This purpose can not contain us. This world is shifting into stasis, a slow integumentary death. A lack of inertia. This does not interest any of us. We must progress."
Yortuna nodded and her priests were silent.
Osedax grinned and sharp teeth stretched across his face. "I never said I would not join this fight."
Sor'ehan paused. "What can you offer us?
Vordon smiled. "A new world to burn. Come." He stood and led them all out of the room onto a stone balcony. The white one followed behind him, a pale shadow with dead eyes. Below them surged a crowd of thousands, snapping and yelping Anabyns suited for war.
"This is my private battalion. With the other city states of Calyon at my disposal I can raise ten times this number within a week." He turned to the crowd. "Ravaging Legion! The time for waiting is over! We shall go to war!" Screeches and howls of pleasure and anticipation rose from the courtyard. "There shall be an end to our hunger, I have dreamt it! The Goddess Elnora has…" He trailed off here and his pupils grew large. The others on the balcony looked at one another, then Vordon lifted his head up and let loose a howl so forceful it blew back his veil and they could see his teeth glistening white in the still early sun. The howls grew more frenzied in the courtyard below, and then the vision took them all.
They stood on a field piled high with corpses. Blood flowed in rivulets into creeks into rivers into great dark lakes. The sky hung low, bonfires torched the clouds and the suns burned red through the smoke. Strange lightning flashed in the sky, blasts of crazed energy sounded in the distance, and the very earth rumbled beneath their might.
They stood upon hills made of flesh and bone. Ravagers of Thenreus, cloaked in gore, crowned in bloody glory and the wind moaned in shrieking worship.
They came to their senses slowly. The white Anabyn seemed did not seem to have seen anything, but the grin was gone from Osedax's face, replaced by a look of hunger. Sor'ehan's face twitched and veins bulged from her forehead. Kijiulk simply blinked and looked at his hands and then the sky and Yortuna's face was hidden, but one hand clutched the stone railing. The Anabyns in the courtyard were still writhing in the vision's aftermath, and Vordon turned to those on the balcony.
"We feast now."
<Are you alright master? You grow faint.>
There was silence.
<What have we done?>
<What had to be done.>
And the voices swallowed again by a deeper silence.
The sky was cloudy that night, the air wet, and the light of the nebulae could not pierce the forest canopy. A shadow moved among the trees.
"You're late. And you were to come alone." His voice was a reedy whisper.
Three Grubblin walked down the road, two larger warriors following a smaller leader, wearing garish blue robes. The smaller one spoke.
"Greetings, Guaroga. I hope the night finds you well. These are simply some of my cousins, of Urbilix's squirm."
"Must you speak so loudly?"
Xixiss smiled but he was silent. The shadow moved forward out of the shadows of the great oaken boughs. Slender and long of limb, the Guaroga hunter stood a foot taller than even the larger grubblins. He wore a mask of stretched hide and a crown of small horns protruded along the top. His large pointed ears twitched.
"Get out of the road, a patrol is coming."
Xixiss looked up and down the roadway. No one was coming, but they moved off the road, back into the dark undergrowth. They waited. A few minutes later, two Ursk walked into their line of vision. They were outfitted in mismatched attire, one in full breastplate, the other only wearing a helm and a bracer on one arm.
"We should wait until we can find one alone," Xixiss whispered. But the Guaroga was already gone. Xixiss sighed and kept his senses focused on the path.
A lanky shadow appeared before the pair of patrollers and despite its height, the Ursks each towered over it as they stopped and brought their spears to bear. Before they could speak out, the shadow lunged through the night air at the first guard, who brought up a meaty forearm just in time to protect his face. A deep gash opened along his arm and the Grubblins behind Xixiss shuffled at the smell of blood in the air. He put out his hand to silence them but did not turn from the scene unfolding. He could see the Guargoa's weapon now, a long thin hunting knife, gently tapered, and the blood on the stylet appear luminescent in the dim moonlight.
The second Ursk barreled forward to help his comrade and swung its heavy spear. The Gauroga ducked beneath the obsidian tip and brought the knife upwards, cleaving through the spear, and in the same motion leapt up to slide the blade across the warrior's throat. The Ursk dropped the bisected spear and its claws clutched at its throat as it fell. Xixiss could see now that the knife was indeed glowing, wet light shimmering brightly through the bloody blade. The Guaroga turned to the remaining Ursk who swung its spear up with one hand, the other hanging limply at its side. The Guaroga moved even more quickly now than it had, and before the Ursk could react the hunter's knife had pierced breastplate and thick skin and ribcage and had transfixed the massive heart on its edge. The second Ursk fell to the wet dust of the road. Xixiss jumped into the pathway from his hiding place.
"Get them out of the road now, and remove their armor," he said, and the two larger Grubblins rushed into the open and began to haul the mounds of flesh. The Guaroga had not moved from the road, and the glow had left his knife.
"Who are you? You are not some simple hunter."
"I am Itayo, Warden of the Hunt. "
"I see. Well, your duty is done, Warden, you may leave." Itayo only followed the Grubblins into the forest. "Very well," Xixiss said quietly, and followed.
Back in under cover, the pair of Grubblins had removed all of the weaponry and armor from the bodies, and arranged them in respective piles. They stared hungrily at the corpses. Itayo lounged against the base of a tree. Xixiss pointed to one of the dead Ursks.
"Eat, my grubkin, and grow strong. Slowly. Savor the flesh." The two pounced, digging their faces into the open wounds. Xixiss walked to the other Ursk,removing his robes, revealing the pale grey flesh and sickly figure, and stretched his mouth open wide. Half a dozen mouthed tongues slithered out and wrapped around the fallen Ursk's limbs and latched onto its still warm flesh. Slowly, the tongues pulled the massive body into the Grubblin's mouth. The process took about an hour and when he had consumed the entire body, he leaned back, bloated and stretched to the point of translucence. Then his form seemed to condense, then expanded. His arms grew longer and fuller, as second pair of legs sprouted behind his first, and hindquarters developed. Hair began to sprout from his chest and arms and his face contorted. A few minutes later he stood before Itayo, an exact copy of the dead Ursk. He shook his new frame.
"His name was Undegren. His voice was now a low rumble, completely different than the thin whisper he had spoken in. He had even changed his accent to perfectly mimic that of the Gladeren Kingdom. "He had two children and the dead one there was Kralgot, his brother in law." He began to dress himself in the dead Ursk's effects.
"They died well," Itayo said.
"There is no such thing as far as my Grubkin are concerned. They were pieces of meat that died quickly in the dark, that we may war with them. They protected nothing."
"They died fighting for life. Their death will make life that much sweeter. And you have already completed the circle, transmuting their death into your strength. That is a good death."
"Their death will only lead to more death. It is the way of us Grubfolk." He sounded weary. He turned back to the grubblins feeding. One had torn open the chest wound and the other was sucking at the forearm. Their tongues writhed through muscle and tendons and they already looked bloated. Xixiss lifted his now massive arm and brought his clenched fist down on the nearest grubblin's head. There was a crunch, and fluids matted Xixiss's new fur. Before the other could turn, he slammed his other arm into its back, claws ripping out the front of its chest. The ruined Grubblin corpses slid to the ground, pooled dark grey in a bloody soup.
Jagged cuts and bitemarks sprouted over Xixiss's new frame. He lifted the mutilated Ursk body and slung it gently over one shoulder and spoke to Itayo.
"They came out of nowhere, there must have been a dozen of them. They killed Kralgot. I was able to hold them off and outrun them. These two I killed."
"I did not know your kind could imitate so perfectly."
"I am the best."
He grasped the two grubblins by their necks in one huge claw and as he dragged them back to the road, he developed a limp. Itayo followed. First dawn was approaching and the nebulae grew faint above them.
"Wish me luck, Itayo Warden of the Hunt. I go to start our war."
Itayo nodded. "Death is another force, just as life is. Remember this, Grubblin." With that he turned back to the forest and disappeared again into the shadws.
Xixiss smiled and limped down the road, leaving twin trails of Ursk and Grubblin blood that coalesced into puddles behind him.
He was dragged. He struggled very little, his hooves clattered over the cobblestoned streets. His face was beaten and swollen and the cries of his children echoed through his skull, drowning out the smithies and the curious onlookers and even the suns and sky and buildings around him, leaving only the screams, the shattering of smallware, his wife's eyes going large and round.
They took him to a small hut that sat in the shadow of the great outer wall of the city. It was overgrown with vines, and Kiele's Bloom blossomed orange and efflorescent in the deep blue midday shade. The open door was a black hole and they threw him and closed the door behind him. He bellowed at the door and charged at it, but it was thick and heavy and reinforced through with iron. There were no windows and he could see nothing in the darkness and he threw himself at the walls, great fists and claws crunching against solid stone. He did not know how long he was at it, but by the time he stopped his hands were swollen and numb. He stumbled and collapsed in the corner and slept, dreamless as always.
"You were able to keep your form while unconscious. Impressive, worm, although I suppose it would be necessary for this type of subterfuge."
A female voice awoke him. His eyes had adjusted to the gloom and he took stock of his surroundings. The room was was about 30 feet wide and bare of any furniture or fixtures or any sign of habitation. Barred light thinned through the rotted thatch roof, golden and dusky illuminating the center of the room and dust motes purled slowly through stagnant air. The Ursk who had spoken stood in the dark in front of the door and glowed a pale white through the brume of dust and darkness.
"What? Oracle, is that you? I do not understand. What are you talking about? What is going on? Why have you taken me from my family?" Hysteria edged into his voice, and he stood.
"You are quite the performer." She leaned into the light. "But I can see you, Grubblin."
She waved a clawed hand and spread a pair of great wings until they touched the stone walls of the hut and he went rigid and convulsed and collapsed. His voice seized in his throat and veins bulged along his furred forehead and muzzle. His form slowly muddied and seemed to puddle and then condensed and shrank into a grey-skinned bipedal form, barely five feet long stretched out on the floor. The convulsions continued for a moment then stopped and Xixiss sat up panting. The Oracle lowered her hand.
"I have questions. There are more of your kind among us."
"That was not a question." The Grubblins voice was weak, a seedy croak and he crouched in the darkness.
The Oracle sighed. "You are right. We Ursk have no stomach for questioning or torture. My brethren want simply to smash your little body in and to be done with you, to nurse their pride." She turned to the door. "You may enter now."
Three Ursk guards, entered the room each carrying a dead Grubblin. The warriors, walking in a tense stiff gait, piled the limp and emaciated bodies in the circle of illumination in front of Xixiss then promptly turned and left not speaking or looking at anything.
"They would like nothing more than to storm back in here and tear you limb from limb for this defilement."
Xixiss nodded at the heaped bodies. "Is that a threat?"
"No worm, it is a promise."
The Grubblin said nothing.
"You were sneaking them in. How many are there?"
The Grubblin remained silent. The Oracle sighed, and rested on her haunches.
"You trained your minions well. They each swore they were working alone. Or perhaps this is what they really thought? Ah, you see? I am no good at this interrogation business, I have just told you all we know. It does not matter. I found you. I will find the others."
"There are no others."
The Oracle blinked. "Forgive me if I do not believe you."
"I know your reputation Oracle, I knew what you are capable of as soon as I absorbed Undegren's memories. I have taken every precaution to avoid you during the last few days, but I could only stay on patrol for so long, and had to be careful when bringing in others."
"What did you come here to do? What was your goal?"
Xixiss shrugged. "To learn of your race. I can absorb all the memories I want, but they are stale and faded and tinged with the warped ideas of strangers. I like to see it all firsthand."
"You prayed with our people." Her voice was low and hard. "You were toasted for returning that night, and we feasted in your honor. Did you feel nothing?"
Xixiss was silent, and looked at his hands.
"Laiza and the children didn't suspect a thing. In fact, it seems as though any time you did not spend on patrol, you spent with them. Why is that Grubblin? Was it simply to avoid me? Or did the soulless worm enjoy playing family? Why is it you are so good at this masquerading? What envy you must have for those who can feel their own feelings, who can think their own thoughts, those who are more than simply who they've eaten. Still nothing to say?"
Xixiss shrugged and the Oracle breathed deeply.
"You sicken me. Guards!" As the three guards reentered the dwelling, the fading light dwindled, and Xixiss stood in the gloom.
"Did you really think I would not have a way out, Oracle? You brought all of my brethren here within an hour of each other. Did you think I would not notice? I know when it is time to leave." A crawling could be heard throughout the room, a scratching and moving. "You have the gift of true sight, but you could not see my brethren following you for the past day. This is the house you grew up in, was it not Oracle? The outskirts at the edge of town. Why would you bring me here?"
The Guards looked at the Oracle, uneasy but the white Ursk said nothing and stared at the Grubblin. Then the dark shapes began falling from the thatching, squirming wormlike things of tongues and groping fingers. The Ursk guards roared out swung their claws at the clinging shadows. The Oracle made to grab at Xixiss, but as she reached towards him, the heap of Grubblin bodies beneath her erupted and larva, kept incubated in their parents' bodies, latched onto her. Xixiss crossed the room with a quick stride and walked out the unbarred door and stopped short.
In the middle of the street stood two more Ursks, equipped for battle, but they did not seem to notice Xixiss at all. Dim shapes and a nimbus of blue fog encircled each of their heads, and their eyes were cloudy. Between them was a twisted faceless figure. It had three arms which jutted out haphazardly from its body and instead of legs it only had a trail of blurred haze. It bowed its head to Xixiss as he came to the street, and he heard a voice whisper, as though right next to him.
<Come, Lord of Deceit. Your underlings will not hold them for long.> The figure turned and floated down the street, abandoned at this hour, the hour of the nightly feast. Xixiss could feel mana seeping from the hut behind him, and he knew the Oracle would dispatch his distraction quickly. He hurried after the strange apparition, which led him straight to the walls of Glader and stopped, the stone as thick as he was tall, smooth and unscalable the whole way up.
"I cannot float my way out of this stranger, I do not have the energy."
The apparition only raised a hand and touched Xixiss with a stretched forefinger and a wave of energy passed through the Grubblin. He raised his hand, only to realize he could see right through it. The strange figure bowed again.
<The remnants of your squirm camp a few miles east of the city. Good luck,> the figure whispered and then turned and walked into the rampart, dissolving into the solid rock. Xixiss stood alone in the deep shadow of the wall and heard shouting behind him. He did not turn to look, he only lowered his head, and walked forward into an opaque blackness.
The wooded dells of the Lindiere moorlands were deserted and its skies were a perpetual grey and thunder grumbled mutely and constantly in the distance. He and his small squirm made their way through vacant towns crumbling back into ruin and over farmlands rotted with weeds. Sik's towers loomed black and crooked on the horizon. He found a small meeting party awaiting him at the decayed walls. Four Grubblins, in Osedax's black robes, bowed to him
"Lord Osedax has requested your presence."
"Take me to him then."
The tunnels would have appeared unlit to an intruder, completely black and twisting and near impossible to navigate, but Grubblin workers had packed dead bodies into shallow cubbies in the walls, and the residual mana leaking from the corpses illuminated the hallways for the Grubblins, blue honeycombed light spreading down each passage.
Xixiss followed the servant who had spoken to him, while the others were led down another tunnel. Broodtenders scurried through the halls, checking on larva planted inside the corpses in the walls. His guide spoke.
"The Broodlord is in a foul mood. Have you heard the news regarding Broodmother Urbilix?"
"What news?" Xixiss asked.
"She mounted an attack on the Grioskbut a few days ago. It went poorly. Two hundred and fifty Grubblin warriors slain, and two elder Boneworms."
Xixiss barked a laugh. "She is arrogant as she is stupid. Feeding and breeding has always been more important to her than military strategy."
"Yes, Lord."
After several twists and turns, Xixiss entered a large chamber, furnished with lavish sofas and a large ornately carved desk and several colorful rugs splayed out on the floor. The cubbies in these walls each contained perfect specimens, alive but held in stasis, and the glow of flowing mana was brighter here than the corridors. His guide turned back to the dim corridors.
Osedax stood at the end of the chamber, towering over the desk. He stood eight feet tall and his empty eyesockets held no expression. Xixiss bowed.
"Greetings young one," Osedax said. "How did you fare in the jungles of Gladeran?"
"I was found in Glader, Broodfather. Several of my best imitators were killed." He did not mention the strange apparition.
"It does not matter. You learned the patrols."
"They will change the patrols immediately."
"You have planted seeds of trepidation in them then. They will view each other with suspicion and they will be overly cautious. You worry too much young one, you have done well. You have started war."
Xixiss said nothing.
"I am sending you back to the Savannahs of Calyon."
"To the Anabyn?"
"Yes. You will bring your squirm with you and join them on the fields of battle."
"So you exile me."
"I need a commander with a diplomatic approach to be present among our forces with the Anabyn.
The Anabyn will not want to share the kill with our warriors. You must prevent conflict. Besides, your squirm covets only the brains of the dead, so I am sure you can come to an arrangement."
"It is not just you. Urbilix will join the Guaroga. To supplement their lifeline magic."
"So as fodder for their sacrificial rites? She will not enjoy seeing her offspring slaughtered by the hundreds."
"As long as she is fed, she will not complain. After that debacle with the Griosk, she is lucky that I do not kill her myself."
"And Annelixid? Where will you send the Devouring Cloud?"
"The Ignis Kor enjoy destroying all in their path. Annelixid and his squirm will supplement this goal."
"They are each too proud to work with one another."
"His offspring view him as something close to a god, and he obeys only me. They shall heed my commands."
"And who will you send to the Ayomi? Skilsk?"
"No, I shall be visiting New Intuka myself."
"Are you sure this is wise Broodlord?"
"They are skilled in many arcane magics, and willing to teach me."
"And you would accept their teachings? You would become a student?"
"Only a fool turns down a perfectly good weapon for his pride's sake. I have made my decisions young one."
Xixiss bowed again, deferent. Osedax turned to a body in the wall, pulled it out and held it up. It was pale and hairless and although his long fingers wrapped around the entirety of the head, Xixiss could see rows of teeth glimmering in the corpselight. Tongues erupted from the Osedax's palm and dug into the skull, writhing ecstatic under skin. He turned back to Xixiss, the Vassav still in his hand.
"Do you know why the Vassav are forbidden?"
"Their minds are voids. Consuming a Vassav will crush a weak Grubblin."
"That has always been true. But recently there have been the stirrings of something deep within their minds, the rumbling echoes of thought, like a single note thrumming in the darkness growing louder. They have grown deliberate in their actions of late, and their movements have changed. Something is happening young one."
And the wind reamed over the rotted fields, moaning through the decayed stones of the dark towers over their heads, a deep groan reverberating through the tunnels.
Cards subject to change.
Creature- Grubblin Wizard (M)
Mindleech
GUB: Exile target card from target opponent's graveyard. If an instant or sorcery card is exiled this way, you may cast it without paying its mana cost. If a creature card is exiled this way, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of that creature.
4/4
Osedax - The most revered Grubblin is Osedax, an ancient member of their species. He resembles an eight foot tall human and it is rumored that he is the first of their race. He is a powerful grubblin spellcaster and can devour spells even as they are cast. One of the few grubblins that is totally fluent in other languages.
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Creature- Grubblin Rogue (M)
Mindleech
2U, Exile target creature card from an opponent's graveyard: ~ becomes a copy of that creature until end of turn and gains this ability and mindleech. Put a +1/+1 counter on ~.
"Their death will only lead to more death. It is the way of us Grubfolk."
2/2
Xixiss - Xixiss is one of Osedax's offspring who has gained the ability to imitate other forms almost perfectly. He is unusual because he is very close to the other members of his squirm and has taught them many of his secrets.
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Creature- Grubblin (M)
Mindleech
Whenever a card is put into an opponent's graveyard from his or her library, put a 1/1 black Grubblin creature token with mindleech onto the battlefield.
"My children are always hungry."
4/5
Urbilix - Urbilix, the Motherlord is a grubblin that is the most prolific reproducer of the race. She keeps a large squirm composed entirely of her own offspring and prefers to consume only pregnant beings. She recently led a botched assault on the Griosk.
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Creature- Grubblin
Flying
Spellgorge 8 (Whenever an opponent casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. At the beginning of each end step, if this creature has 8 or more +1/+1 counters on it, sacrifice it.)
Whenever ~ attacks, creatures defending player controls get -1/-1 until end of turn for each +1/+1 counter on ~.
Its shadow envelopes villages, as does its appetite.
1/2
Annelixid - Annelixid is a grubblin that has grown to an enormous size and is sometimes called "The Devouring Cloud". It prefers to float almost constantly (which is unusual because mature grubblins tend to not float as well) and when inflated, is about 160 feet long (about the size of a football field). When it approaches the ground it lets down dozens of mouth-ended tentacles. It is pretty much a thoughtless eating machine, and its squirm views it as godly.
Victory Crier :3mana::symw::symw:
Creature - Ursk Soldier (R)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under you control put a war counter on Victory Crier.
Creatures you control get +1/+1 for each war counter on Victory Crier.
2/2
Challenge 1 - Suspyr
Possessed Warrior :symw::symg:
Creature - Ursk Soldier (U)
Possessed Warrior gets +2/+2 for each card haunting it.
2/2
A reminder from the OP if you've forgotten. I will be fairly harsh if I don't see these requirements met! =D
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2