We've had quite an interesting CCL this month. True to my nature, I attempted to provide novel card creating experiences and bend people's minds, work-out those obscure elements of our minds. This month had two themes.
The first was that of cultural drift. This is a real life phenomena one might recognize easiest from terms like "Americanization" and how American culture and traditions are spreading outward into other cultures and traditions. This yields a mishmash of cultures with elements compromised from either culture. When the western world discovered silk from China, but they didn't make kimonos, they fashioned them into tunics or other western things. Similar things occurred to this month's members as they were shunted from their home plane to an entirely different plane and their only ally came from yet another plane. They began to develop a new civilization on this new world, but all three parts would be eternally changed by the joining.
The other theme was the ability to extrapolate upwards from flavor, kind of a top-down element for flavor specifically. In the sign-ups each person posted their avatar and their avatar's lackey, and were allowed to describe their world through a narrative of their avatar, but that was that. Each round, and each successive one more than the last, necessitated the ability to glean the flavor of the plane from the flavor of the cards and narrative they had available to them. This is a skill anthropologists and many other social and liberal scientists employ in their work. When exploring an ancient ruin one might discover a clay mug. So, to some, it would be simply a clay mug, but to anthropologists that reveals crimping style, social status, the availability of clay, water, and kilns, and perhaps even dining habits or dental hygiene. I'd say most of our members did a marvelous job and if you're looking for a good way to procrastinate, browsing through Round One, Two, Three, Four, and the Semi-Finals would be a great way to do it.
On this last round, Gerrard's Mom and Cardamne's avatars finally made it back to their home plane but only upon seeing the great changes that came to their home could they come to terms with what changes have occurred to themselves. We are treated to a view into their minds as they reminisce the places they've been and wonders they've seen. We see it as a deck (composed almost exclusively of cards representing what the avatars encountered on their journey), and more importantly, an accompanying planar deck representing the places they've encountered. Each deck is built around their avatar, and because of necessary synergy that occurs between the cards of a deck and the planar deck this yields the important concept of perspective and how a djinni lord might perceive these wonders differently from a rebel leader.
With no further ado, feast your eyes on these two wonderful pieces of art:
Kalish, the South Fort
Legendary Land - Desert [M] : Add to your mana pool.
:1mana::symr:, , Remove a +1/+1 counter from a creature you control: Put a token that’s a copy of that creature onto the battlefield. That token has haste and “At the beginning of the end step, exile this permanent.”
Reinforce 2— :symwr::symwr:
Sanddancer's Camp
Land [u]
Sandancer's Camp enters the battlefield tapped. : Add or to your mana pool
Reinforce 1— :1mana::symwr:
Steel Chapel
Land [u]
Steel Chapel enters the battlefield tapped.
When Steel Chapel enters the battlefield, you may untap target artifact you control. : Add or to your mana pool.
Djin's Playground
Land [u]
Djin's Playground enters the battlefield tapped.
When Djin's Playground enters the battlefield, you may switch the power and toughness of target creature you control until end of turn.. : Add or to your mana pool.
Caden the Protector :1mana::symw::symr:
Legendary Creature - Human Rebel [M]
First strike, wither
Caden the Protector has double strike as long as there are two or more +1/+1 counters on it.
Reinforce 2 - :sym2w::sym2r:
2/2
Aeiana, Shaper of Masks :symu::symu::symr:
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter [M]
Creatures you control with a +1/+1 counter on them are 3/3.
Creatures your opponents control with a +1/+1 counter on them are -1/0.
Reinforce 1 -
Reinforce 2— :symu::symr:
2/1
Warped Rebel :symu::symr:
Creature - Illusion Rebel [u]
Haste, protection from creatures with haste
Whenever Warped Rebel becomes reinforced, you may put a token that's a copy of Warped Rebel onto the battlefield.
Reinforce 1 - :1mana::symr:
2/1
Caden's Pupil :1mana::symw:
Creature - Human Rebel [c]
Creatures you control with a +1/+1 counter on them have vigilance.
Reinforce 1 - :1mana::symw:
1/3
Sanddancer Marshal :symw::symr:
Creature - Human Rebel [u]
Whenever Sandancer Marshall becomes reinforced, you may put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control
Reinforce 1— :1mana::symwr:
2/2
Bastir Squire
Creature - Cat Warrior [c]
When Bastir Squire enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on another target creature
1/1
Traversian Trapper
Artifact Creature - Golem [c]
Sacrifice Traversian Trapper: You may tap target creature.
Modular 1 (This enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it. When it's put into a graveyard, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
0/0
Expanse Invader
Creature - Cat Warrior [u]
Haste, bloodthirst 1 (If an opponent was dealt damage this turn, this creature enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.)
At the beginning of the end step, if there are no +1/+1 counters on Expanse Invader, return Expanse Invader to its owner's hand
2/1
Windwarder Escort :1mana::symuw::symuw:
Artifact Creature - Drake [c]
Flying
Whenever Windwarder Escort reinforces a creature, that creature gains flying until end of turn.
Reinforce 2— :1mana::symu::symw:
2/2
Bastir Pyromancer :2mana::symr:
Creature - Cat Shaman [c] : Bastir Pyromancer deals 1 damage to target creature.
Whenever Bastir Pyromancer reinforces a creature you control, if that creature is on the battlefield, it deals damage equal to its power to target creature.
Reinforce 1 -:2mana::symr:
1/1
Sarcomite Seer :symw::symu:
Artifact Creature - Human Wizard [u]
Whenever Sarcomite Seer becomes tapped, look at the top X cards of your library, then put them back in any order. Where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Sarcomite Seer.
Modular 2 (This enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it. When it's put into a graveyard, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
0/0
New Mizega Phoenix :xmana::symw::symr:
Creature - Phoenix [R]
Flying, vigilance, haste
New Mizega Phoenix enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.
You may cast New Mizega Phoenix from your graveyard by paying {W}{R} and removing X +1/+1 counters from among creatures you control rather than paying its mana cost.
0/0
Caden the Dawn :3mana::symw::symr:
Planeswalker - Caden [M]
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature and it gains haste until end of turn.
[+1]Return target card with reinforce from your graveyard to your hand.
[-7]For each +1/+1 counter on each creature you control you may put a token that’s a copy of that creature onto the battlefield. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step.
[4]
Flaming Lances :1mana::symr:
Instant [c]
Flaming Lances deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Reinforce 3 -:3mana::symr:
Chimney of Vitality
Artifact [R]
Smog 2
Creatures you control get +1/+1 for each smog counter on Chimney of Vitality.
At the beginning of your end step, remove a smog counter from Chimney of Vitality.
1.- My home plane before leaving Dancing Sands
Plane - Mizega
Creatures enter the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on them.
Whenever you roll , creatures you control get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on them.
2.- The plane i landed on round 1 (Gerrard's Mom) Azvra's Court
Plane - Eternal Emirates
At the beginning of your upkeep, flip a coin.
Whenever you win a coin flip, put a 3/1 red Elemental creature token with haste onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
Whenever you roll , flip ten coins.
3.- Arcadeus' and Maokun's Laboratorium
Plane - Traversian
Exile a creature card from your graveyard: Put a 1/1 Golem artifact creature token onto the battlefield. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Whenever you roll , put a 1/1 Golem artifact creature token onto the battlefield.
4.-Flappy/MagicProfessor28 Leech Pastures
Plane - Turrach
When you planeswalk to Leech Pastures or at the beginning of your upkeep, you may choose a counter on target permanent or player. Remove that counter from that permanent or player or put another of those counters on it.
Whenever you roll , you may choose up to two counters on target permanent or player. Remove those counters from that permanent or player or put another two of those counters on it.
5.- Nekyia/MobiusMan's Plane Smogmist Field
Plane - Xorothil
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a smog counter on Smogmist Field.
Spells cost more to cast for each smog counter on Smogmist Field.
Whenever you roll , Add three mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool for each smog counter on Smogmist Field.
6.- KoolKoal/Jimmy Groove's Plane Taken Outpost
Plane - Pharos Island
At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If it doesn't share a name with a permanent on the battlefield or a card in a graveyard, put it in your hand, otherwise you gain life equal to it's converted mana cost.
Whenever you roll , you may put target card from your graveyard on top of your library.
7.- my home plane when i returned Changing Sands
Plane - Mizega
Whenever a creature comes into play, it becomes a copy of target creature until a player planeswalks.
Whenever you roll , you may put a 1/1 blue Illusion creature token onto the battlefield.
8.-another place of any of the above (Flappy/MagicProfessor28) Gate to the Expanse
Plane - Sil
At the beggining of your upkeep exile a creature you control.
When you planeswalk away from Gate to the expanse, each player returns to the battlefield all cards he or she owns exiled with Gate to the expanse
Whenever you roll , returns to the battlefield all cards you own exiled with Gate to the expanse. Those creatures gain haste and get +2/+0 until end of turn.
9.-another place of any of the above (GM) Bastir Arena
Plane - Eternal Emirates
Whenever a creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.
At the beginning of each player's end step, that player puts a -1/-1 counter on each creature he or she controls that didn't attack this turn.
Whenever you roll , target player skips his or her next combat phase.
10.-another place of any of the above (my home before leaving) Rebel Highlands
Plane - Mizega
Each creature card in each player's hand has reinforce 1 -:2mana:.
Whenever you roll , until end of turn each creature card in your hand has reinforce 3 -:2mana:.
Gerrard's Mom
My deck, Azvra's Enchanted Inquisition Of Unpredictability, is at its core a red haste deck, splashing blue and white for control elements, in particular an enchantment sub-theme. Key to the haste theme are the 4 Searstep Sovereigns, a straightforward haste lord. Cracklebolt Captains can get damage through while Frostburn Crusaders help neutralize blockers.
The spells in my deck help to play around my legends, as Azvra's planeswalker version neutralizes the drawback of his creature form. Velocity Soulspark and Nihil Net both seem like one-use enchantments, but they can be animated to help attack with Harlas Dunedust. There are a couple of utility spells, and Shape-Seeking Flame serves as a powerful finisher.
My planar deck provides a variety of effects that all play well with the main deck. The Blood Dunes and E'Barakut, the Forever Storm speak directly to the main themes of my plane for this month. The rest draw their inspiration from the creative settings made by the other players this month
Frostfield Well
Land (R) T: Add W to your mana pool. If you control an enchantment, you may add U to your mana pool instead.
Mirage Basin
Land (R) T: If it is your turn, add R to your mana pool. Otherwise, add U to your mana pool. The sight of water draws many, but they arrive to find only heat.
Thunderhead Palace
Legendary Land (R)
Whenever an opponent plays a land, you may put Thunderhead Palace from your hand onto the battlefield.
At the beginning of any opponent's end step, return Thunderhead Palace to its owner's hand. : Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Creatures: Azvra the Impatient :2mana::symr::symu:
Legendary Creature - Djinn (M)
Flash, flying, haste
Skip your main phases.
5/5
Cracklebolt Captain :symr::symu:
Creature - Elemental Soldier (U)
Haste
Cracklebolt Captain is unblockable.
:symr:: Cracklebolt Captain gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Sacrifice Cracklebolt Captain at the beginning of the next end step.
1/1
Frostburn Crusader :1mana::symr::symw:
Enchantment Creature - Elemental Knight (U)
Haste
Whenever Frostburn Crusader attacks, target creature controlled by the defending player becomes an enchantment until end of turn. (It's no longer a creature.) 2/2
Harlas Dunedust :1mana::symr::symw::symu:
Legendary Enchantment Creature (R)
Haste, vigilance
At the beginning of each upkeep, flip a coin. If it comes up heads, each other creature becomes an enchantment until the end of the turn (It's no longer a creature). If it comes up tails, each other non-Aura enchantment becomes a creature with power and toughness each equal to its converted mana cost until end of turn (It's still an enchantment).
3/4
Searstep Sovereign1RR
Creature - Efreet Berserker (R)
Haste
Other creatures you control with haste get +1/+1 and have first strike. The Searstep tribes burn a never-ending trail of slaughter across the Blood Dunes, instantly fatal to any who cross its path.
2/2
Velocity Soulspark :1mana::symr::symr:
Creature - Elemental (U)
Creatures you control have haste.
At the beginning of the end step, Velocity Soulspark becomes an enchantment. (It's no longer a creature.)
3/1
Spells: Azvra, Emir of Immediacy :2mana::symu::symu:
Planeswalker - Azvra (M)
+1: The next spell you cast before the beginning of your next turn may be cast as though it had flash.
-3: Choose draw step, main phase, or combat phase. Target player skips each instance of the chosen step or phase on his or her next turn.
-8: For the rest of the game, after each phase of every opponent's turn, you take a phase of the same type. (The phases are beginning phase, main phase, combat phase, and ending phase.)
{4}
Dreamcatcher Amulet
Artifact (U) , Sacrifice Dreamcatcher Amulet: Choose a card type. Until end of turn, you have protection from that card type.
Insightful Anger :1mana::symr::symu:
Instant (U)
Draw cards equal to the damage dealt this turn by target creature you control. War is a grand experiment, with every enemy bone broken providing proof for a successful hypothesis.
Mirrorspell1UR
Instant (R)
Choose one - Counter target spell; or copy target spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. Semblican sorcerers have learned to adjust a spell's angle, allowing them to twist it out of existence or split into two arcane streams.
Nihil Net1W
Enchantment (C)
Flash
When Nihil Net enters the battlefield, exile target attacking or blocking creature.
When Nihil Net leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to the battlefield under its owner's control.
Shape-Seeking Flame2RR
Sorcery (U)
Choose one - Shape-Seeking Flame deals 4 damage to target creature or player; or put three 2/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste into play. Exile those tokens at the beginning of the end step.
1. My home plane, reshaped by hostility: The Blood Dunes
Plane - Eternal Emirates
Creatures can't block and can't tap except to attack.
Whenever you roll , target creature deals double damage this turn.
2. My home plane long ago, a world living in the moment: E'Bakarut, the Forever Storm
Plane - Eternal Emirates
You may cast nonland cards as though they had flash.
Whenever you roll , target player skips his or her next turn.
3. Twilight Kiwi's cold plane of Ost, which I came to control during its winter season: Orawn's Glacier
Plane - Ost
At the beginning of your upkeep, put an ice counter on target permanent. That permanent is an enchantment as long as it has an ice counter on it.
Whenever you roll , target player sacrifices a permanent of each permanent card type. (Permanent card types are artifact, creature, enchantment, land, and planeswalker.)
4. By the time of the planar merging, Azvra had thawed much of Ost in a warming spring: Pharin Cascades
Plane - Ost
At the beginning of your first main phase, add one mana of any color to your mana pool for each card type among permanents you control.
Whenever you roll , you may put an enchantment card from your hand onto the battlefield.
5. Venser's illusionary plane of Semblica, colonized by Black_Megatog and conquered by me: Convergence Spire
Plane - Semblica
When you planeswalk to Convergence Spire, turn all nontoken creatures face down. (They're 2/2 creatures.) When you planeswalk away from Convergence Spire, turn all face-down creatures face-up.
Whenever you roll , you may turn target creature face-down or face-up.
6. Flappy's and MagicProfessor28's adaptation of a pastoral setting by Jimmy Groove and the tyranny of KoolKoal's bird kingdom, respectively merged: Venomous Orchards of Desxot
Plane - Turrach
Lands don't untap during their controller's untap step.
At the beginning of each player's untap step, untap all lands not controlled by that player.
Whenever you roll , you may tap up to two target lands.
7. Myrix's shadow invasion of arcadeus88's plane met with Lanxal's enterprising settlement on Maokun's smog-filled plane: New Ashenforge
Plane - Myrxal
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a smog counter on New Ashenforge.
Spells cost 1 more to cast for each smog counter on New Ashenforge.
Whenever you roll , you may ignore New Ashenforge's effect this turn.
8. Myrix's home plane was divided between light and shadow, then invaded by Mobiusman's undead hordes. The light side: Heavenhall Reaches
Plane - Lysiria
All creatures are indestructible.
Whenever you roll , put a 4/4 white Angel token creature with flying and vigilance onto the battlefield.
9. And the dark side, influenced by Nekiya's assassins that burst in with Lanxal's Cloudwreath: Elsia
Plane - Xorothil
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player may discard a card. If the player does, he or she may destroy target creature with toughness equal to the converted mana cost of the discarded card.
Whenever you roll , you may cast target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard without paying its mana cost.
10. Finally, arcadeus88 and Maokun brought together planes originally by Mobiusman and Nekiya, morbid planes in an unfulfilled cycle of destruction: The Concentric Mazes
Plane - Traversian
Players can't cast spells with converted mana cost greater than or equal to a spell already cast this turn.
Whenever you roll , exile your hand and draw that many cards.
This poll shall stay up until next Wednesday, during that time please invest the time to vote not only for the quality of the creations, but faithfulness to flavor.
I thank you all for taking part in my CCL Experiment and bearing with me through some of these, perhaps ridiculous, challenges. I know I enjoyed every minute of it, and seeing how well you all did in the challenges brought me immense pleasure.
Good luck cardamne!
This was a fun month, it just got a little messy when planes were merged and all. The basic idea was great though, so I hope we can do something like this again soon! Thanks to all the players who have made cards and worlds to play with this month, and thanks to Alabran for organizing all of it!
Anyone know who die/ is? He has not made a single post anywhere on MTGS. He seems to have registered solely to vote on this poll, I'm tempted to not count his vote.
Clearly I'm not unbiased here, but I'm always confused by who votes in these things but never posts in this forum. I lost in June also by one vote, with a few votes people I have never heard of at all. It's possible there are lurkers who don't post, but I don't see them vote in anything else with public voting, like We Make the Set, TTC, or Design Idol. The only obvious thing that occurs to me would be to count only votes from people who were in the CCL that month. I don't know if that's really a good solution, there are some people who don't join the CCL but who have valid design opinions that should be able to vote.
I certainly don't think cardamne has anything to do with it, this poll should probably just be run as is, it's just a thought for the future if people think it matters.
actually I like GM's idea, the people who participate on the ccl are the people who is more familiar with our work (I really hard one if I might add). After all the ccl works that way the whole month, only voting among ourselves. There was a time when i just came in here to see other people cards to find new design ideas, so i can see it happening for one to go ahead and vote. Anyway, maybe the solution can be that only ccl guys can vote and people who post some feedback about the cards, after all I'm here for the feedback and grow as a designer
Other competitions with this problem have instigated a base number of posts required to vote in the poll, and disregard anyone else. For example, if you are required to have 25 posts to vote in the poll, that number is high enough to dissuade any possible shenanigans.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
I know we have very few official planes from wizards and it was hard to balance the effects on how powerful the static and the trigered ability can be.
I'll talk about a couple of planes now, i'll probably add the rest over the weekend
1. My home plane, reshaped by hostility: The Blood Dunes
Plane - Eternal Emirates
Creatures can't block and can't tap except to attack.
Whenever you roll , target creature deals double damage this turn.
2. My home plane long ago, a world living in the moment: E'Bakarut, the Forever Storm
Plane - Eternal Emirates
You may cast nonland cards as though they had flash.
Whenever you roll , target player skips his or her next turn.
3. Twilight Kiwi's cold plane of Ost, which I came to control during its winter season: Orawn's Glacier
Plane - Ost
At the beginning of your upkeep, put an ice counter on target permanent. That permanent is an enchantment as long as it has an ice counter on it.
Whenever you roll , target player sacrifices a permanent of each permanent card type. (Permanent card types are artifact, creature, enchantment, land, and planeswalker.)
1.- I think the wording on the chaos should be double strike, it would be cleaner. I think that you put it that way to use the triger multiple times and be x2, then x4 and so on but the odds are not high enough to go for it i think. I like how you focused on the violence and the clause of not been able to tap for shenanigans (go violence!)
2.- i never completly got the sinergy of flash and haste, i see you plane relating more with haste than flash, but since every creature in your deck has haste the ability on the plane woul be super redundant. I like the chaos to be "target player" since planechase was build for multiplayer, but it might be to powerful, on that turn he or she skips everyone can gang up on him/her twice!
3.- the static it's a pacifism a turn since they stop being creatures and can't attack but can still use most of their activated abilities. I don't like the fact that it reduces the permanent count for the chaos ability
oh yeah. by the way, for this challenge I decided to go and make the deck like a planechase deck to make it show more of caden's allies that's why i only have one copy of each rare and mythic. And I put ajani because he is the only other +1/+1-counter-loving walker around and thought they could be good buddies
Voting for Gerrard's Mom, because I love the creative way he designed his cards.
Also, with the corrections in the plane cards, it would make more sense to be corrected as "Whenever you roll , target a creature. If that creature would deal damage to a creature or player this turn, it deals double that damage to that creature or player instead."
I voted for GM, because I liked his deck a little better, and I thought his planes were a little more flavorful (not necessarily more flavorfully in-tune, because I don't know every other participant's planes flavor or the time to investigate it.)
I was disappointed that neither of you used "when you planeswalk to ~ or at *other trigger*" often enough, in my opinion.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
Some comments-
About the deck, you did a good job trying to explore reinforce, although I never thought it was the most exciting mechanic since it mostly just bleeds green's color pie to all the rest. Sanddancer Marshall's "When ~ becomes reinforced, ..." trigger is fun, and it was interesting to mix it with modular and bloodthirst for the counter theme. It was funny that we ended up in the same colors for our decks.
Planes:
Dancing Sands - Nice effect to push creatures and perfect for your deck.
Azvra's Court - Flipping ten coins is a little too much for one card, although it's an interesting take on my themes. The flavor of speed was really my only major theme, which mainly meant haste.
Laboratorium - I thought this was one of your weaker planes, just a sort of Necrogenesis.
Leech Pastures - Pretty straightforward, but it subtly plays well with the poison theme as well as your counters. Would have liked to see a more interesting chaos effect.
Smogmist Field - Adding mana for the counters is fun too, otherwise I have the same plane. It's cool because you can gamble and come out ahead on mana, and rolling more chaos is good for you.
Taken Outpost - A little involved, but the package is nice, with life gain or draw.
Changing Sands - I like the effect here, one of my favorites. It will just be hard to keep track of what is copying what, and it's similar to Isle of Vesuva.
Gate to the Expanse - Takes advantage of the planechase mechanics well, and is good with your ETB abilities. The +2/+0 was maybe unnecessary.
Bastir Arena - Another good way to encourage combat, and merges your mechanics with mine really well.
Rebel Highlands - Overkill in a deck where practically everything has reinforce already.
Of my cards, I think Convergence Spire and The Blood Dunes would be the most fun to play. Otaria lets you take another turn, so I figured it would be ok for E'Bakarut to cause someone to skip a turn.
Messing around with haste has been fun, I know Asrama did some work on an evergreen keyword-based set and I think it could play interestingly. Of the new cards I offered for the deck, I was proud of Shape-Seeking Flame allowing you to get more damage if you could get it through combat, the cross between Flame Javelin and Ball Lightning.
Sorry for the double post, but I guess this is done? If the poll is ok, I guess that gives me the CCL, MCC, and TTC for October. Getting back to school must be good for my creativity
The final was deservedly close, cardamne has done a great job in the contests recently with well-thought-out cards. Looking forward to competing with you again soon!
congrats man, you earned it. but this isn't the last thing you will hear from me muahaha! (evil "i'll be back" laugh). Right now i'm at the mcc, ccl, double dare and the mole let's see hoe everything else goes. (now that I wrote it, it sounds like a lot, i can only hope my brain can take it)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I think, therefore, I'm dangerous"
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
We've had quite an interesting CCL this month. True to my nature, I attempted to provide novel card creating experiences and bend people's minds, work-out those obscure elements of our minds. This month had two themes.
The first was that of cultural drift. This is a real life phenomena one might recognize easiest from terms like "Americanization" and how American culture and traditions are spreading outward into other cultures and traditions. This yields a mishmash of cultures with elements compromised from either culture. When the western world discovered silk from China, but they didn't make kimonos, they fashioned them into tunics or other western things. Similar things occurred to this month's members as they were shunted from their home plane to an entirely different plane and their only ally came from yet another plane. They began to develop a new civilization on this new world, but all three parts would be eternally changed by the joining.
The other theme was the ability to extrapolate upwards from flavor, kind of a top-down element for flavor specifically. In the sign-ups each person posted their avatar and their avatar's lackey, and were allowed to describe their world through a narrative of their avatar, but that was that. Each round, and each successive one more than the last, necessitated the ability to glean the flavor of the plane from the flavor of the cards and narrative they had available to them. This is a skill anthropologists and many other social and liberal scientists employ in their work. When exploring an ancient ruin one might discover a clay mug. So, to some, it would be simply a clay mug, but to anthropologists that reveals crimping style, social status, the availability of clay, water, and kilns, and perhaps even dining habits or dental hygiene. I'd say most of our members did a marvelous job and if you're looking for a good way to procrastinate, browsing through Round One, Two, Three, Four, and the Semi-Finals would be a great way to do it.
On this last round, Gerrard's Mom and Cardamne's avatars finally made it back to their home plane but only upon seeing the great changes that came to their home could they come to terms with what changes have occurred to themselves. We are treated to a view into their minds as they reminisce the places they've been and wonders they've seen. We see it as a deck (composed almost exclusively of cards representing what the avatars encountered on their journey), and more importantly, an accompanying planar deck representing the places they've encountered. Each deck is built around their avatar, and because of necessary synergy that occurs between the cards of a deck and the planar deck this yields the important concept of perspective and how a djinni lord might perceive these wonders differently from a rebel leader.
With no further ado, feast your eyes on these two wonderful pieces of art:
Cardamne
4 Island
4 Mountain
6 Plains
3 Terramorfic Expanse
1 Kalish, the South Fort
2 Sanddancer's Camp
2 Steel Chapel
2 Djin's Playground
2 Elite Vanguard
1 Caden the Protector
1 Aeiana, Shaper of Masks
3 Warped Rebel
2 Caden's Pupil
2 Sanddancer Marshal
2 Bastir Squire
2 Traversian Trapper
2 Expanse Invader
2 Windwarder Escort
2 Bastir Pyromancer
2 Sarcomite Seer
1 New Mizega Phoenix
2 Trumpet Blast
2 Harm's Way
1 Sleep
1 Caden the Dawn
2 Flaming Lances
1 Chimney of Vitality
2 Djinn Counsel
Legendary Land - Desert [M]
:1mana::symr:,
Reinforce 2— :symwr::symwr:
Sanddancer's Camp
Land [u]
Sandancer's Camp enters the battlefield tapped.
Reinforce 1— :1mana::symwr:
Steel Chapel
Land [u]
Steel Chapel enters the battlefield tapped.
When Steel Chapel enters the battlefield, you may untap target artifact you control.
Djin's Playground
Land [u]
Djin's Playground enters the battlefield tapped.
When Djin's Playground enters the battlefield, you may switch the power and toughness of target creature you control until end of turn..
Caden the Protector :1mana::symw::symr:
Legendary Creature - Human Rebel [M]
First strike, wither
Caden the Protector has double strike as long as there are two or more +1/+1 counters on it.
Reinforce 2 - :sym2w::sym2r:
2/2
Aeiana, Shaper of Masks :symu::symu::symr:
Legendary Creature - Shapeshifter [M]
Creatures you control with a +1/+1 counter on them are 3/3.
Creatures your opponents control with a +1/+1 counter on them are -1/0.
Reinforce 1 -
Reinforce 2— :symu::symr:
2/1
Warped Rebel :symu::symr:
Creature - Illusion Rebel [u]
Haste, protection from creatures with haste
Whenever Warped Rebel becomes reinforced, you may put a token that's a copy of Warped Rebel onto the battlefield.
Reinforce 1 - :1mana::symr:
2/1
Caden's Pupil :1mana::symw:
Creature - Human Rebel [c]
Creatures you control with a +1/+1 counter on them have vigilance.
Reinforce 1 - :1mana::symw:
1/3
Sanddancer Marshal :symw::symr:
Creature - Human Rebel [u]
Whenever Sandancer Marshall becomes reinforced, you may put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control
Reinforce 1— :1mana::symwr:
2/2
Bastir Squire
Creature - Cat Warrior [c]
When Bastir Squire enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on another target creature
1/1
Traversian Trapper
Artifact Creature - Golem [c]
Sacrifice Traversian Trapper: You may tap target creature.
Modular 1 (This enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it. When it's put into a graveyard, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
0/0
Expanse Invader
Creature - Cat Warrior [u]
Haste, bloodthirst 1 (If an opponent was dealt damage this turn, this creature enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.)
At the beginning of the end step, if there are no +1/+1 counters on Expanse Invader, return Expanse Invader to its owner's hand
2/1
Windwarder Escort :1mana::symuw::symuw:
Artifact Creature - Drake [c]
Flying
Whenever Windwarder Escort reinforces a creature, that creature gains flying until end of turn.
Reinforce 2— :1mana::symu::symw:
2/2
Bastir Pyromancer :2mana::symr:
Creature - Cat Shaman [c]
Whenever Bastir Pyromancer reinforces a creature you control, if that creature is on the battlefield, it deals damage equal to its power to target creature.
Reinforce 1 -:2mana::symr:
1/1
Sarcomite Seer :symw::symu:
Artifact Creature - Human Wizard [u]
Whenever Sarcomite Seer becomes tapped, look at the top X cards of your library, then put them back in any order. Where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Sarcomite Seer.
Modular 2 (This enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it. When it's put into a graveyard, you may put its +1/+1 counters on target artifact creature.)
0/0
New Mizega Phoenix :xmana::symw::symr:
Creature - Phoenix [R]
Flying, vigilance, haste
New Mizega Phoenix enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.
You may cast New Mizega Phoenix from your graveyard by paying {W}{R} and removing X +1/+1 counters from among creatures you control rather than paying its mana cost.
0/0
Caden the Dawn :3mana::symw::symr:
Planeswalker - Caden [M]
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature and it gains haste until end of turn.
[+1]Return target card with reinforce from your graveyard to your hand.
[-7]For each +1/+1 counter on each creature you control you may put a token that’s a copy of that creature onto the battlefield. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step.
[4]
Flaming Lances :1mana::symr:
Instant [c]
Flaming Lances deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Reinforce 3 -:3mana::symr:
Chimney of Vitality
Artifact [R]
Smog 2
Creatures you control get +1/+1 for each smog counter on Chimney of Vitality.
At the beginning of your end step, remove a smog counter from Chimney of Vitality.
Djinn Counsel :2mana::symu:
Sorcery [c]
Draw two cards.
Reinforce 2 - :2mana::symw:
1.- My home plane before leaving
Dancing Sands
Plane - Mizega
Creatures enter the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on them.
Whenever you roll
2.- The plane i landed on round 1 (Gerrard's Mom)
Azvra's Court
Plane - Eternal Emirates
At the beginning of your upkeep, flip a coin.
Whenever you win a coin flip, put a 3/1 red Elemental creature token with haste onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.
Whenever you roll
3.- Arcadeus' and Maokun's
Laboratorium
Plane - Traversian
Exile a creature card from your graveyard: Put a 1/1 Golem artifact creature token onto the battlefield. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
Whenever you roll
4.-Flappy/MagicProfessor28
Leech Pastures
Plane - Turrach
When you planeswalk to Leech Pastures or at the beginning of your upkeep, you may choose a counter on target permanent or player. Remove that counter from that permanent or player or put another of those counters on it.
Whenever you roll
5.- Nekyia/MobiusMan's Plane
Smogmist Field
Plane - Xorothil
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a smog counter on Smogmist Field.
Spells cost
Whenever you roll
6.- KoolKoal/Jimmy Groove's Plane
Taken Outpost
Plane - Pharos Island
At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If it doesn't share a name with a permanent on the battlefield or a card in a graveyard, put it in your hand, otherwise you gain life equal to it's converted mana cost.
Whenever you roll
7.- my home plane when i returned
Changing Sands
Plane - Mizega
Whenever a creature comes into play, it becomes a copy of target creature until a player planeswalks.
Whenever you roll
8.-another place of any of the above (Flappy/MagicProfessor28)
Gate to the Expanse
Plane - Sil
At the beggining of your upkeep exile a creature you control.
When you planeswalk away from Gate to the expanse, each player returns to the battlefield all cards he or she owns exiled with Gate to the expanse
Whenever you roll
9.-another place of any of the above (GM)
Bastir Arena
Plane - Eternal Emirates
Whenever a creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.
At the beginning of each player's end step, that player puts a -1/-1 counter on each creature he or she controls that didn't attack this turn.
Whenever you roll
10.-another place of any of the above (my home before leaving)
Rebel Highlands
Plane - Mizega
Each creature card in each player's hand has reinforce 1 -:2mana:.
Whenever you roll
Gerrard's Mom
The spells in my deck help to play around my legends, as Azvra's planeswalker version neutralizes the drawback of his creature form. Velocity Soulspark and Nihil Net both seem like one-use enchantments, but they can be animated to help attack with Harlas Dunedust. There are a couple of utility spells, and Shape-Seeking Flame serves as a powerful finisher.
My planar deck provides a variety of effects that all play well with the main deck. The Blood Dunes and E'Barakut, the Forever Storm speak directly to the main themes of my plane for this month. The rest draw their inspiration from the creative settings made by the other players this month
5 Islands
7 Mountains
2 Plains
4 Frostfield Well
4 Mirage Basin
1 Thunderhead Palace
4 Cracklebolt Captain
4 Frostburn Crusader
2 Harlas Dunedust
4 Searstep Sovereign
2 Velocity Soulspark
2 Dreamcatcher Amulet
4 Insightful Anger
4 Mirrorspell
2 Nihil Net
4 Shape-Seeking Flame
Land (R)
T: Add W to your mana pool. If you control an enchantment, you may add U to your mana pool instead.
Mirage Basin
Land (R)
T: If it is your turn, add R to your mana pool. Otherwise, add U to your mana pool.
The sight of water draws many, but they arrive to find only heat.
Thunderhead Palace
Legendary Land (R)
Whenever an opponent plays a land, you may put Thunderhead Palace from your hand onto the battlefield.
At the beginning of any opponent's end step, return Thunderhead Palace to its owner's hand.
Creatures:
Azvra the Impatient :2mana::symr::symu:
Legendary Creature - Djinn (M)
Flash, flying, haste
Skip your main phases.
5/5
Cracklebolt Captain :symr::symu:
Creature - Elemental Soldier (U)
Haste
Cracklebolt Captain is unblockable.
:symr:: Cracklebolt Captain gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Sacrifice Cracklebolt Captain at the beginning of the next end step.
1/1
Frostburn Crusader :1mana::symr::symw:
Enchantment Creature - Elemental Knight (U)
Haste
Whenever Frostburn Crusader attacks, target creature controlled by the defending player becomes an enchantment until end of turn. (It's no longer a creature.)
2/2
Harlas Dunedust :1mana::symr::symw::symu:
Legendary Enchantment Creature (R)
Haste, vigilance
At the beginning of each upkeep, flip a coin. If it comes up heads, each other creature becomes an enchantment until the end of the turn (It's no longer a creature). If it comes up tails, each other non-Aura enchantment becomes a creature with power and toughness each equal to its converted mana cost until end of turn (It's still an enchantment).
3/4
Searstep Sovereign 1RR
Creature - Efreet Berserker (R)
Haste
Other creatures you control with haste get +1/+1 and have first strike.
The Searstep tribes burn a never-ending trail of slaughter across the Blood Dunes, instantly fatal to any who cross its path.
2/2
Velocity Soulspark :1mana::symr::symr:
Creature - Elemental (U)
Creatures you control have haste.
At the beginning of the end step, Velocity Soulspark becomes an enchantment. (It's no longer a creature.)
3/1
Spells:
Azvra, Emir of Immediacy :2mana::symu::symu:
Planeswalker - Azvra (M)
+1: The next spell you cast before the beginning of your next turn may be cast as though it had flash.
-3: Choose draw step, main phase, or combat phase. Target player skips each instance of the chosen step or phase on his or her next turn.
-8: For the rest of the game, after each phase of every opponent's turn, you take a phase of the same type. (The phases are beginning phase, main phase, combat phase, and ending phase.)
{4}
Dreamcatcher Amulet
Artifact (U)
Insightful Anger :1mana::symr::symu:
Instant (U)
Draw cards equal to the damage dealt this turn by target creature you control.
War is a grand experiment, with every enemy bone broken providing proof for a successful hypothesis.
Mirrorspell 1UR
Instant (R)
Choose one - Counter target spell; or copy target spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Semblican sorcerers have learned to adjust a spell's angle, allowing them to twist it out of existence or split into two arcane streams.
Nihil Net 1W
Enchantment (C)
Flash
When Nihil Net enters the battlefield, exile target attacking or blocking creature.
When Nihil Net leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to the battlefield under its owner's control.
Shape-Seeking Flame 2RR
Sorcery (U)
Choose one - Shape-Seeking Flame deals 4 damage to target creature or player; or put three 2/1 red Elemental creature tokens with haste into play. Exile those tokens at the beginning of the end step.
The Blood Dunes
Plane - Eternal Emirates
Creatures can't block and can't tap except to attack.
Whenever you roll
2. My home plane long ago, a world living in the moment:
E'Bakarut, the Forever Storm
Plane - Eternal Emirates
You may cast nonland cards as though they had flash.
Whenever you roll
3. Twilight Kiwi's cold plane of Ost, which I came to control during its winter season:
Orawn's Glacier
Plane - Ost
At the beginning of your upkeep, put an ice counter on target permanent. That permanent is an enchantment as long as it has an ice counter on it.
Whenever you roll
4. By the time of the planar merging, Azvra had thawed much of Ost in a warming spring:
Pharin Cascades
Plane - Ost
At the beginning of your first main phase, add one mana of any color to your mana pool for each card type among permanents you control.
Whenever you roll
5. Venser's illusionary plane of Semblica, colonized by Black_Megatog and conquered by me:
Convergence Spire
Plane - Semblica
When you planeswalk to Convergence Spire, turn all nontoken creatures face down. (They're 2/2 creatures.)
When you planeswalk away from Convergence Spire, turn all face-down creatures face-up.
Whenever you roll
6. Flappy's and MagicProfessor28's adaptation of a pastoral setting by Jimmy Groove and the tyranny of KoolKoal's bird kingdom, respectively merged:
Venomous Orchards of Desxot
Plane - Turrach
Lands don't untap during their controller's untap step.
At the beginning of each player's untap step, untap all lands not controlled by that player.
Whenever you roll
7. Myrix's shadow invasion of arcadeus88's plane met with Lanxal's enterprising settlement on Maokun's smog-filled plane:
New Ashenforge
Plane - Myrxal
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a smog counter on New Ashenforge.
Spells cost 1 more to cast for each smog counter on New Ashenforge.
Whenever you roll
8. Myrix's home plane was divided between light and shadow, then invaded by Mobiusman's undead hordes. The light side:
Heavenhall Reaches
Plane - Lysiria
All creatures are indestructible.
Whenever you roll
9. And the dark side, influenced by Nekiya's assassins that burst in with Lanxal's Cloudwreath:
Elsia
Plane - Xorothil
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player may discard a card. If the player does, he or she may destroy target creature with toughness equal to the converted mana cost of the discarded card.
Whenever you roll
10. Finally, arcadeus88 and Maokun brought together planes originally by Mobiusman and Nekiya, morbid planes in an unfulfilled cycle of destruction:
The Concentric Mazes
Plane - Traversian
Players can't cast spells with converted mana cost greater than or equal to a spell already cast this turn.
Whenever you roll
This poll shall stay up until next Wednesday, during that time please invest the time to vote not only for the quality of the creations, but faithfulness to flavor.
I thank you all for taking part in my CCL Experiment and bearing with me through some of these, perhaps ridiculous, challenges.
This was a fun month, it just got a little messy when planes were merged and all. The basic idea was great though, so I hope we can do something like this again soon! Thanks to all the players who have made cards and worlds to play with this month, and thanks to Alabran for organizing all of it!
I certainly don't think cardamne has anything to do with it, this poll should probably just be run as is, it's just a thought for the future if people think it matters.
PD to everyone other CCL participant: can we get an opinion of how we did on designing your planes?
I'll talk about a couple of planes now, i'll probably add the rest over the weekend
1.- I think the wording on the chaos should be double strike, it would be cleaner. I think that you put it that way to use the triger multiple times and be x2, then x4 and so on but the odds are not high enough to go for it i think. I like how you focused on the violence and the clause of not been able to tap for shenanigans (go violence!)
2.- i never completly got the sinergy of flash and haste, i see you plane relating more with haste than flash, but since every creature in your deck has haste the ability on the plane woul be super redundant. I like the chaos to be "target player" since planechase was build for multiplayer, but it might be to powerful, on that turn he or she skips everyone can gang up on him/her twice!
3.- the static it's a pacifism a turn since they stop being creatures and can't attack but can still use most of their activated abilities. I don't like the fact that it reduces the permanent count for the chaos ability
Also, with the corrections in the plane cards, it would make more sense to be corrected as "Whenever you roll
A la Quest for Pure Flame, although there might be a better way to word it.
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
I was disappointed that neither of you used "when you planeswalk to ~ or at *other trigger*" often enough, in my opinion.
About the deck, you did a good job trying to explore reinforce, although I never thought it was the most exciting mechanic since it mostly just bleeds green's color pie to all the rest. Sanddancer Marshall's "When ~ becomes reinforced, ..." trigger is fun, and it was interesting to mix it with modular and bloodthirst for the counter theme. It was funny that we ended up in the same colors for our decks.
Planes:
Dancing Sands - Nice effect to push creatures and perfect for your deck.
Azvra's Court - Flipping ten coins is a little too much for one card, although it's an interesting take on my themes. The flavor of speed was really my only major theme, which mainly meant haste.
Laboratorium - I thought this was one of your weaker planes, just a sort of Necrogenesis.
Leech Pastures - Pretty straightforward, but it subtly plays well with the poison theme as well as your counters. Would have liked to see a more interesting chaos effect.
Smogmist Field - Adding mana for the counters is fun too, otherwise I have the same plane. It's cool because you can gamble and come out ahead on mana, and rolling more chaos is good for you.
Taken Outpost - A little involved, but the package is nice, with life gain or draw.
Changing Sands - I like the effect here, one of my favorites. It will just be hard to keep track of what is copying what, and it's similar to Isle of Vesuva.
Gate to the Expanse - Takes advantage of the planechase mechanics well, and is good with your ETB abilities. The +2/+0 was maybe unnecessary.
Bastir Arena - Another good way to encourage combat, and merges your mechanics with mine really well.
Rebel Highlands - Overkill in a deck where practically everything has reinforce already.
Of my cards, I think Convergence Spire and The Blood Dunes would be the most fun to play. Otaria lets you take another turn, so I figured it would be ok for E'Bakarut to cause someone to skip a turn.
Messing around with haste has been fun, I know Asrama did some work on an evergreen keyword-based set and I think it could play interestingly. Of the new cards I offered for the deck, I was proud of Shape-Seeking Flame allowing you to get more damage if you could get it through combat, the cross between Flame Javelin and Ball Lightning.
The final was deservedly close, cardamne has done a great job in the contests recently with well-thought-out cards. Looking forward to competing with you again soon!