And we're down to the final rounds of the April CCL, 2010! In the epic story of many planes, only two are left - ced395 and Krey - both on the verge of collapse. Only one can survive the tumults of the Blind Eternities. Which will it be?
The Challenge: Create six cards: one depicting your changed planeswalker, two depicting the effects of your collapsing plane, and three depicting your efforts to save your world.
Syrilia Parilis1WU
Planeswalker - Syrilia (M)
+1: Draw a card, then reveal your hand.
+1: You gain life equal to target creature's toughness.
-2: For as long as you control Syrilia Parilis, prevent all damage that would be dealt to you and you can't be the target of spells or abilities opponents control.
[2]
Syrilia is a Planeswalker that hails from a long-dead unknown plane, one that simply collapsed on itself with all the damage caused by war and destruction. But, just before it did, Syrilia's Spark activated, and she 'Walked away just in time.
As a result of her harrowing experiences in her mortal life, Syrilia is a pacifist, and she searches the multiverse for a plane that shares this with her, a plane where there are no wars, and everything is calm.
But, she doesn't find it. She watches with horror as Phyrexian horrors spill onto Dominaria, she can't look as Levelers tear apart Mirrodin, she 'walks away as the spirit-Kami enter Kamigawa.
But, Syrilia can do something about this, of course. She is a planeswalker. What better way to find her own world than create it? But, how does she solve the problem of war, destruction and evil? But, is there anything she can base such a world on?
Despite the darkness of everything around her, Syrilia still finds a little spark of hope, a community without war. At least, not internal war. She finds the Slivers of Rath, creatures with a combined mind, which share intelligence, strengths and weaknesses. Surely, she reasons, this is an amazing gift with a lot of potential, but wasted on the vile and dangerous Slivers, who attack anything that isn't their own.
Of course, she thinks, the hive mind of the slivers can be used for peaceful purposes. In the sliver community, with a joint mind, internal peace can be the only result. The slivers understand eachother as they understand themselves, feel eachother's pain, but stop short of anything resembling 'good' by their otherwise violent nature. But, what if she gave this ability to another race, and created a plane where this Hive Mind, or a "Thoughtlink" as she calls it, prevails in everything. From there, no acts of war or evil can follow.
So, she sets this plan in motion. She creates a new plane, a new world in the image of her long-dead home, before it was ripped apart by unknown influences. To bring life to the plane, she takes a Sliver, and brings it to her world. Seperated from its mind by the Blind Eternities, the sliver is neutralized, and Syrilia can begin work. The sliver becomes a new Queen, the mother of all the races on the plane. These races, though, they are not Slivers themselves. They are elves, humans, merfolk, combined with the essence of the sliver, giving them all the same knowledge, and the ability to understand others, except that each single creation also possesses its own independent mind as well. Syrilia has created and populated the new plane, which she calls Paril.
But, there are two last things to do. Syrilia is aware that there are other Planeswalkers out there, and she knows what the influence of one could do to the perfect balance in her world. So, she summons the depths of her power, and shuts the plane off from the rest of the multiverse, shutting herself in in the process.
In addition, however, there is the matter of the one Sliver, brought to create the life of the plane, and required to live to sustain it. But, the inhabitants of the plane must not find this secret. So, she hides it, in a secret place that only she knows the location of. Even though Syrilia plans to join the inhabitants of the plane in their Thoughtlink after she has finished, she has enough power to conceal that knowledge from the rest of the Plane.
(well, that was longer than I expected)
Archive of Musings
(Art: The point of view is from somewhere near a top corner of a very large room. The room can be seen to be roughly a few hundred metres in width and length, and about 50m roof height. The room can be seen to be filled with bookshelves on a grand scale. These bookshelves are staggered, however, like a huge staircase. On each huge "step", there are tables and chairs, and people can be seen sitting down and writing. On each wall that horizontally seperates one step from the higher step, there are smaller rows of bookshelves, in which are many documents and books, with smaller staircases positioned intermittently which allow people to move between levels. You can see one of these huge "bookcase-staircases" in the foreground, and several similar ones in the background. The architecture is very ornate and beautiful, as though the people who built this were exactly in tune with the wishes of those who use it.)
Land (U)
:symtap:: Add 1 to your mana pool. U, T: Each player reveals his or her hand. The scholars of the Archive do not read the records. Instead, they write down everything they think, preserving the opinions and ideas that the Thoughtlink cannot carry.
Warning: Babies are killed in this flavor. I'm not a sick person, it just fits quite well.
But, the Thoughtlink was not as successful as Syrilia had hoped. At first, all was fine. The societies quickly joined as one, progressing through technologcal advances in mere years, where it would take centuries on other planes.
Then the cracks started to show.
The Thoughtlink was almost like an elastic sheet. It could cover everything when there were few people, and could stretch to accomodate more. But, soon enough, there were simply too many beings making use of it. Sometimes, a person would be shaken free from the Thoughtlink. The consequences for them would be terrible. The removal of the ability to feel and think with everybody else would make them feel as if they have gone blind, and would drive them into a murderous madness, when the sympathy for others was removed.
What Syrilia found most horrible, however, was the response of those still under the Thoughtlink. They executed them. Usually immediately, if possible, because their reliance on the Thoughtlink had removed any ability to understand the feelings of those that they couldn't directly experience. As such, funeral pyres soon appeared in every settlement, with the rise in "breakaways", as they became know. In addition, some were born outside of the thoughtlink. This was worse than a miscarriage for the mothers, and the babies had to be put to death. Though, Syrilia was aware that, infact, they were instinctively killed, like the breakaways. Was this a side of uncaring evil, that was showing in a world meant for benevolence? How had it come about?
But, even Syrilia wasn't aware of what the breakaways could be capable of. In the far steppe and wasteland regions of the plane, which the Thoughtlink had ignored for being useless, a select few of the "breakaways" had escaped, and had managed to get used to their new fates. They formed tribes and fought wars for supremacy, and eventually, they were united under the leadership of one leader, known within the tribes as Takreesh (his name while under Thoughtlink remains unknown). He gave the "breakaways" a new name, the "Freeminds".
Now under one banner, Takreesh readied the Freeminds for war on the unprepared Thoughtlink. The entire land of the Thoughtlink wbecame aware of them when they first struck, but they were not prepared for war, a concept that could never exist for them. Takreesh's army carved a bloody arc through the Thoughtlink, straining and stretching it, until more holes appeared, causing even more chaos and confusion.
At the last possible moment, Syrilia stepped in, leading Takreesh into a trap and killing him. The remainder of the Freeminds managed to escape, to reform and attack again, except that the severly depleted Thoughtlink could now prepare.
Syrilia knew that her world would never be the same, and never be truly what she wanted, so she decided that compromise must be possible. The advanced nature of the Thoughtlink meant that they could always attack, defend or recover far more quickly and far more efficiently, so she just had to wait until the Freeminds were defeated, then repair the Thoughtlink.
But, that would require that she journeyed to where the Sliver was hidden.
Overload (Rather than pay any costs to activate an activated ability of this permanent, you may sacrifice it.)
Rulings
-Essentially, Overload allows you to replace the costs of activating an activated ability with "Sacrifice ~". For example, if you have an artifact with Overload and "2, T: Draw a card.", you may use that same ability by sacrificing that artifact. Essentially, it's shorthand for the addition of "Sacrifice ~: Draw a card." on that artifact card.
-You may not activate activated abilities of creatures with summoning sickness that have in their cost, even if you would sacrifice the creature as an alternative cost.
-You may however sacrifice instead of paying the normal cost of activated abilities involving of tapped permanents.
Brash Inciter1R
Creature - Human Barbarian (C) 3R: Target creature gets +3/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
Overload (Rather than pay any costs to activate an activated ability of this permanent, you may sacrifice it.) "The torch is used for two things - to light the ballistas, and to keep the more cowardly warriors moving."
1/1
Syrilia transported herself instantly to the inner sanctum of the hiding place of the Sliver.
The sliver was the key to the Thoughtlink, and, through it, Syrilia could access the extent of its power, and keep it from breaking, a it was so close to doing.
Syrilia reached into the dormant sliver's mind, and was amazed at what she could see. It was like she was flying over the plane, except that, instead of the landscape, she could see the thoughtlink, what it encompassed, and what it didn't. Each individual was a dot, the brighter dots were those within the Thoughtlink, the duller ones outside it.
Even with the apparent distance, she could control the Thoughtlink with meticulous precision. She could channel its power onto individuals, Relinking them.
It was a time-consuming process, though, and no mistakes could be made. After hours passed, she stopped, and looked at the rest of the "map" before her. She could see the bright glare of the majestic cities of the Thoughtlink, and the dark glimmer of the Freemind tribe villages. She could also see her own representation on the "map", but it was far, far away from all the other dots of light. It was a brilliant representation of what the Thoughtlink has achieved, she thought.
But, then, something caught her eye. A movement. Not in the bright lights, but in the apparent nothingness between her and everything else. But, there was nothing there, surely. Just to test, she channeled the thoughtlink to this area.
On the map, a dot appeared, but only for a millisecond, before it disappeared again. For that same short time, she felt something on the corner of her mind: a counsciousness, there for a split second, then disappearing again. She also felt an echo of a stabbing pain, the type she (and the entire Thoughtlink) experienced during the Freemind war, that which comes with a sudden death.
"Strange" she mused. "Something was there which the Sliver can detect but the Thoughtlink can't, and being relinked kills it."
When she thought more on the matter, she realised something else unusual: the Thoughtlink was much, much tougher to break than she thought. This unique vision of it demonstrated that it surely had potential to reach to infinity. But, then, why were people breaking free of it?
She decided to investigate both the unknown creature found in the blankness, and the source of the breaking of the Thoughtlink, after finishing the Relinking.
Unknown forces were at work here.
And she knew what damage those could do.
Relink1UU
(Art: A barbarian warrior, presumably one of the Freeminds, is seen. The background is nondescript and abstract. The angle is about halfway between front-on and side-on, so you can see both his eyes and behind him. The angle, zoom and posture is similar to that of Memory Erosion. A glowing blue thread can be seen entering the back of the warrior's head. A bright light can be seen emerging from the warrior's eyes, nostrils, ears and mouth.)
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature
At the beginning of your upkeep, any player may reveal his or her hand hand. If a player reveals more nonland cards than any other player this way, that player gains control of enchanted creature. The Thoughtlink thirsts for knowledge to keep itself renewed.
Eventually, Syrilia finished the relinking. Mentally stepping back to survey her work, she admired her discovery of a solution to end this potentially disasterous conflict without any more blood being shed.
Taking a further step back, out of the realm of the guided imagination and into the real world, she found herself again in the inner chamber of the hideaway. What was she going to look at next? Ah, yes, what it was that was in the apparently empty space.
The inner sanctum had no obvious sources of light, but was being dimly illuminated by a trickle of light coming from somewhere else in this place. Syrilia decided to explore this place a little more (her memory of it was faded, with her locking it away from the rest of the Thoughtlink). So, she set off in pursuit of the light source.
Eventually, she found it: an apparently natural cave-chasm: She was deep underground. At the top, she could see a small opening in the rock, where blue sky shone through. The only path by foot up there was an apparently perilous wall of rock, that stacked like a sort of staircase on a giant scale. Even though the light had been found, only a little got through, and so the pathway up was not easily visible. Neither was what was lying in wait.
Syrilia opted to start climbing. She reasoned that something as simple as defying gravity, should she slip and fall, should be easy, compared to creating a world from scratch. Just before she reached the top, Syrilia found out that something else was in this cave.
Something jumped out of the shadows (admittedly, Syrilia thought, this was not technically correct, as everything in this place was shadows, and so it didn't jump out of them as so much as within them) at her. It wasn't a problem for her - only a blast of her concentration on it was enough to make it vanish into thin air. But, it was something, something not part of the Thoughtlink, nor ever was, or she would have noticed it here earlier.
Finally stepping out at ground level, it was plain to see what it was that was there but not there.
Slivers.
Thousands and thousands of them, covering the ground for miles to see. A tide of scuttling death, that nothing else mortal in the Plane could stop.
Shocked, she quickly intraplaneswalked back to the land of the Thoughtlink, before they could attack her again.
As she did this, she wondered: where had they come from? How long had they been here?
Had a second Sliver escaped through to this world, had a rift been left disasterously unopened? Had the slivers been a second string of descendants of what was now incorrectly titled the "last sliver"?
But, that was a secondary concern to her at the moment to the real one: surely, these slivers must be expanding their territory, based on where she found them with the Thoughtlink. So, how would she stop them overwhelming the rest of the life on the plane?
Felehaim CaptainGW
(Art: The focus is on the Elf Soldier, the captain, in the middle of a battle scene. He wears bright steel armor, and is raising his sword to the air in a silent call to charge. There are several other soldiers around him - most of them humans and elves, but with a goblin for those who look closely. Some look at the captain, and some look in the same direction as the captain does. WHat is noticable, however, is that each and every other soldier mimics part of the stance of the captain, be it a similar arm raised in the air, the facial expression, or a similar posture.)
Creature - Elf Soldier (R)
Vigilance
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control without a +1/+1 counter on it. The mere presence of a Thoughtlink commander can pass tactical genius onto an entire army.
2/2
Surging Sliver3GG
(Art: The scene is a rocky wasteland, the angle almost parallel to the ground from a position close to the surface. Roughly in the middle of the image stands a rock, on which is perched a sliver. In near distance can be seen a cloud of dust at ground level, in which a horde of slivers can be made out.)
Creature - Sliver (R)
All Slivers have "When this permanent enters the battlefield, search your library for a Sliver creature card that costs less, reveal it, and put it in your hand. Then shuffle your library." Unceasing and unstoppable, the Tide has come.
2/3
Like the previous incarnations of the Slivers, they have a common centre of power, like a Queen, an Overlord or a Legion.
But this infestation functioned differently. The true "Queen" of the hive was the weakened sliver Syrilia originally brought to the Plane. But, over time, that sliver's remaining strength had permeated the walls of its hiding place. The sliver was not in the secret lair, it had become the lair itself - a place around which new Sliver life could usually be regenerated at least as fast as it was killed.
Sliver LairWUBRG
Legendary Tribal Artifact - Sliver (M)
All Sliver creatures have "At the beginning of your upkeep, draw a card."
Whenever a Sliver creature is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
The Thoughtlink were at a major disadvantage. There was no experience or even a concept of war in a society with no hidden motives and no misunderstandings. The first attack of the Freeminds had taken advantage of that weakness with devasting effects. While the Thoughtlink could quickly recover and rebuild, the approach to war was considerably more sluggish than the approach to more peaceful pastimes. Memories of the weapons and armor of the Freeminds was used by blacksmiths to create copies, which could be advanced to be lighter and stronger via trial and error. Memories of the fighting styles could be memorized by one and passed on to everybody, and then refined through practice.
But, the fire in the bellies of the Freeminds could not be captured, and the low levels of courage of the soldier when on the battlefield, compared to the training ground, was worrying.
However, all over the Thoughtlink, new ideas were springing up, of ways to turn the concept of war into just more studying. Some people observed the fights of two soldiers, even novices, in a practice bout, and saw how the 1 on 1 played out, not just in front of their eyes, but in their heads, as the soldiers planned their moves while keeping in mind their opponents.
This art of knowing part of what could be coming, and predicting how it would all play out, was developed upon. By looking at the movements of slivers, what they did a moment before they struck, dodged, or let another sneak up behind, patterns could be found and taught via the exchange of memories.
The Thoughtlink had finally found a way to come to a war on their own terms, and only needed a few eyewitnesses to the sliver horde to pick up its deep secrets of attack.
Hereno's Spy2U
Creature - Merfolk Rogue (C)
Islandwalk
When ~ enters the battlefield, Predict. If you are successful, draw a card. (To Predict, choose an opponent and name a nonland card. You are successful unless that opponent reveals their hand to contain no copies of the named card.) Cunningness at a base level, a high awareness, the ability to silently escape and warn others - just a few of the traits that spies and Slivers share.
2/2
Syrilia never did find what force caused the Freeminds to become what they were, and it was able to quickly bring back the people to the tribes that had been almost wiped out. But, the Sliver invasion had finally reached the lands of all the other people. And, the Freeminds, out in their wilderness homes, were the first to get hit. They fought to conserve their way of life, but realized that they could not win against such numerous opposition. The survivors were forced to escape, and they only had one place left to go: back to the land of the Thoughtlink. There, they offered to the Thoughtlink people all that they could - their courage and creativity, the things that the Thoughtlink accidently discouraged, due to showing the average person every small thing anybody thought of as an idea, and every cut and bruise as something to fear.
They could teach their way to others in a way that the Thoughtlink couldn't, a way in which the Thoughtlink needed to progress in order to meet the Sliver threat.
Deviator Prodigy2RR
Creature - Human Wizard 3UU, T: Change the target of target spell that targets only a single permanent or player.
Overload (Rather than pay any costs to activate an activated ability of this permanent, you may sacrifice it.) "Putting the little spin on the energy to drive it off-course is easy. The hard part is choosing the new recipient.
3/3
The war between the Slivers, and, well, everything else, soon escalated. The quick nature of the progess of the Thoughtlink eventually began to give them the upper hand. And, as the slivers started to lose numbers, they lost their evolutionary diversity, and with it their deadliness reduced. It seemed to Syrilia like victory would come.
But, the Freeminds had other ideas. They wanted to eventually defeat the Thoughtlink still, and realized that they could not do this when the Thoughtlink defeated the Slivers, because then they would be too strong. So, just when it looked like the Thoughtlink would win, the Freeminds gathered around a new leader, and attacked the Thoughtlink. This distraction allowed the Slivers to recover their losses, and attack anew.
Eventually, this led to a 3-way war, between the Thoughtlink, the Slivers, and the Freeminds. Syrilia knew that this would not end so easily with victory for one side, because, if one side was defeated, another side would obviously have an advantage, and so the third side would intervene.
So, she had to take different measures to deal with this: destroy one of the other sides herself.
However, something stopped her. Some unknown force, like the one that destroyed her home plane. She concentrated, trying to find it.
Then she found it. It was another Planeswalker, more specifically the current leader of the Freeminds. How had he got here, and did the Freeminds realize that they had so much power within their ranks?
It didn't matter. Whoever he was, he was obviously here, intent on causing the chaos that she had tried to stop happening. And, while she couldn't destroy the entirety of the Freeminds, she could still perform smaller acts of power, to bolster the strength of the Thoughtlink. But, she would have to truly abandon her dream of a world without war to do so.
Syrilia the Desperate3WB
Planeswalker - Syrilia (M)
+3: Destroy target creature. That creature deals damage equal to its power to Syrilia the Desperate.
-X: Return target creature card with converted mana cost X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
-5: Exchange the life totals of two target players.
[4]
The Slivers had new tricks up their sleeves (well, figuratively). When Slivers settled in an area, their Hive Mind could permeate the ground, and after a while, the area could become a Sliver itself. Eventually, after many months of an area of land being affected, it could then grow new plants. Rather than bear fruit, these plants "grew" more Slivers.
Inert Sliver
Tribal Land - Sliver (R)
All Slivers have ":symtap:: Add 1 to your mana pool." 4: Put a 1/1 colorless Sliver creature token onto the battlefield. Inert Sliver becomes a 1/1 creature in addition to its other types. (This effect doesn't end at end of turn.).
Zashid surveyed the remains of the battlefield. Another victory, going towards winning the war, which went towards his higher motive.
A planeswalker of chaos, his objective was to plunge the multiverse into war. He travelled from Plane to Plane, inciting devastation in each one.
He had heard of this plane, Paril, elsewhere, and how it was shut off from the rest of the Multiverse by the Planeswalker within. But he had managed to get in. Planeswalking wasn't the only way around, he had found.
This Plane was an interesting one, however. This Thoughtlink concept certainly made war an impossibility, but it did polarize those under it, and make them potentially unstable when not in the Thoughtlink. And he could break this Thoughtlink rather easily. The Freeminds were then his to lead.
But Zashid had a few more methods. He noted that, for the intuitive progress of the Thoughtlink, they had cared less for the world around them, building their cities quickly over the lands. But he could reverse that, accelerate the restoring process of the land, ripping apart the majestic buildings with roots and vines, breaking them with volcanic eruptions, destroying them with sinkholes, and flooding the streets. He could soon reduce a city to a wild paradise.
Primitive Flourishing1RG
Enchantment (R)
When Primitive Flourishing enters the battlefield, draw a card.
All lands are Plains Island Swamp Mountain Forests.
To stop the battles, Syrilia set up a system of traps on open expanses of land. Their mechanics were complex. They were forcefields that permitted entering and exiting normally, except when force was exerted within them. At this point, the forcefield could absorb this force, and became solid. Then, it contacted around the point at which the force came from. The effect of this was to clear an entire battlefield in a split-second.
Condensing SphereWWUU
Instant (R)
Counter target activated or triggered ability from a creature source. If that ability was countered this way, destroy all creatures. (Mana abilities can't be countered.) In one moment, the forcefield contracted, forcing the entire battlefield into the space of a particle.
After setting the traps, Syrilia made a risky move - she opened the way for Planeswalkers to Walk in and out of Paril. This way, she could leave the Plane, looking across the Multiverse for answers, and ways to end the deadlock. But, she resolved to not do this immediately - at the last possible second.
Desperate Conclusion2BB
Enchantment (M)
When Desperate Conclusion enters the battlefield, choose up to three cards you own from outside the game, and exile them face down.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life.
If you would lose the game, instead sacrifice Desperate Conclusion, then put the exiled cards in your hand and your life total becomes 1.
To take on the Slivers, Syrilia assisted the Thoughtlink alchemists in creation of a new being, one that could take on an entire army all by itself, and only gre more powerful the more enemies it faced.
Heroic Shapeshifter1UU
Creature - Shapeshifter Soldier (R) 4U: Heroic Shapeshifter becomes a copy of target creature, excpet that it retains its power and toughness, as well as both of its own abilities. (This effect doesn't end at end of turn.) 2W: Heroic Shapeshifter's power and toughness become equal to the total number of creatures target opponent controls as this ability resolves. (THis effect does't end at end of turn.)
0/3
My Planeswalker: Dreven, Elemental Guardian :symg::symg::symg:
Planeswalker - Dreven
+1: You may put a land card from your hand into the battlefield.
-2: You may search your library for up to two land cards and put them into your hand. Shuffle your llibrary after searching.
-6: Lands you control become 3/3 green elemental creatures, they are still land.
[2]
My World: Sanctuary of Nirjad
Legendary Land
Whenever a land other than Sanctuary of Nirjad enters the battlefield under your control, put a charge counter on Sanctuary of Nirjad.
Remove a charge counter from Sanctuary of Nirjad,:symtap:: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
:symg::symg::symg:,:symtap:: Return target land from your graveyard to the battlefield, that land enters the battlefield tapped.
My Creature:
The story:
After creating such a magnificent world, Dreven saw every detail. The rustle of the leaves of the forests, the moving grass of the plains, the cold peaks of the mountains, the reflections on the seas and the fog of the swamps.
Dreven then returned to the Sanctuary and delighted in his creation, but something was missing... this world would need someone to live in it. Dreven tought of humans, but he knew that if left alone in this world they would destroy it. Dreven then tought and came to realize that he would need someone to protect Nirjad, what better guardians than the trees that growth out of the land? and with that Dreven conjured again and many trees became truly alive. The treefolk gathered at the Sanctuary and Dreven spoke to them. "Thank you for coming here. You would be my Chosen guardians, you would protect this world. In return I would make you immortal. If you would fall, your energies will return to the land, so your energies will always be there to protect this world. Now go everywhere in this word and keep it safe." As Dreven ended his meeting the treefolk left in all directions. Dreven knew that his safeguard was in place, now the rest of the creatures of his world can arrive.
The Creature: Dreven's Chosen :symg::symg::symg:
Creature - Treefolk (U)
Whenever a forest enters the battlefield, Dreven's Chosen gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
Reclaim :symg::symg::symg: (If Dreven's Chosen is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, add :symg::symg::symg: to your mana pool.)
2/2 They were the first born, serving Dreven in life and in death.
The Magics of Nirjad: Resurging Sprouts :1mana::symg::symg:
Sorcery (U)
Exile all land cards in your graveyard. For each land card exiled this way put a 1/1 green elemental token onto the battlefield with Reclaim (Whenever this permanent is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, addto your mana pool.) "Dont worry for those that have fallen, for their souls are still among us." - Dreven, Elemental Guardian
Pro-Dreven's card: Dreven's Enlightenment :2mana::symw:
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may search your library for a card with the same name as that creature , reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library. The lessons that Dreven teached the humans were not lost, some took them to their heart and were rewarded for it.
Anti-Dreven's card: Gheos,Impetus Visionary :3mana::symb::symr:
Legendary Creature - Human Warrior (R)
Other creatures you control gain haste and +1/+0.
Sacrifice a land: Regenerate Gheos, Impetus
Backlash - Destroy target land (Whenever this creature is dealt damage by a source you don't control, destroy target land.)
3/3 "We don't have to worship anyone, we are smart enough to think on our own and use all the resources we have as we see fit." - Gheos, Impetus Visionary
thousands of years later:
Broken Cycle :2mana::symw::symw:
Enchantment (R)
If a permanent would be put into a graveyard, exile it instead. If Broken Cycle would be put into a graveyard, shuffe it into your library instead. The cycle of life that Dreven created was gone, a new one has replaced it.
Ancient Oak :3mana::symg::symg:
Creature - Treefolk (U)
Green creature spells you control cost less to cast. Legacy - Untap all lands you control (when Ancient Oak is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may untap all lands you control.)
2/6 They are the oldest among the creatures of Nirjad, they are the only ones that remember their origins.
Gheosian Priest :symb::symr:
Creature - Human Cleric (U)
Sacrifice a mountain,:symtap:: Add :symr::symr: to your mana pool.
Exile target land in your graveyard,:symtap:: Add :symb::symb: to your mana pool.
0/1 The followers of the prophet Gheos believed that it was Gheos that defeated the evil mage Dreven, who wanted to stop the progress their prophet wanted.
This round's cards:
Dreven, Elemental Protector 2GG
Planeswalker - Dreven (R)
+0: Search your library for a land card and put it into your hand.
+1: Target land becomes a 3/3 elemental creature. It is still a land. This effect does not end at end of turn.
-3: Gain two life for each land you control.
-8: Creatures you control get +5/+5 and trample until end of turn.
[4]
Lava Lines1RRR
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a land enters the battlefield, that land controller sacrifice another land they control or Lava Lines deal 5 damage to that player. "Each new discovery was filled with fire, rage and fury." - Roble, Treefolk Visionary
Barren Frontier
Legendary Land (M)
Whenever a land is tapped for mana, put a depletion counter on that land. Lands with depletion counter on produce 1 instead of their normal mana.
When Barren Frontier is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, destroy all lands with depletion counters on them. Dreven saw how the mana was being drained and knew that the end was near.
One with the LandGGG
Sorcery (U)
Creatures you control loses all types and become lands with "add one mana of any colored mana symbol on this creature's mana cost to your mana pool. Dreven saw the need of energy to sustain the plane and called for to his follower to make a sacrifice for Nirjad so all can live.
Elemental Attunement2WUG
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a land enters the battlefield, all other lands becomes a copy of that land.
Sacrifice Elemental Attunement: All lands become a copy of target land until end of turn. "I need to harmonize the mana of Nirjad to remove the chaotic elements from it, would it work? Who knows but something must be done." - Dreven, Elemental Protector
Gheos the Repentant3WG
legendary Creature - Spirit Shaman (R)
Return target land card from your graveyard to the battlefield: Regenerate Gheos the Repentant. Legacy - Shuffle your graveyard into your library.(when Gheos the Repentant would be put into a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead and shuffle your graveyard into your library.)
2/4 "It is too late that I realize the damage that I have done, I must help Nirjad in this time and not even the grave would stop me." - Gheos
The voting will go on for a week and end at 6PM, on the 12th of May, Eastern Standard Time. Please vote for who you think should win this month's CCL!
Thanks every who joined the CCL and made this month a blast! Awesome work guys.
Congratulations to both of your for making it this far. After going through the submissions, I have a few comments:
ced395:
I really like the story you have, the world you've built, and how it all came together in this challenge. It's cool that you don't have an one dimensional theme, but if it weren't for the story, it would be hard to see how your cards are connected. However, I do kind of see with this "creatures interact with other creatures" theme (While not exactly being tribal, although silvers kind of are).
I like the new walker, gives off a good flavor. I like the variety of cards you made, showing off lots of different facets of your world, some in very new ways (like the silver land and the forcefield). Each of your cards is very innovative, even if not perfectly balanced, and that's what really counts.
Krey:
I think you made some really strong cards throughout the competition, but I find the overall world you've been to be a bit narrow and lacking in flavor. While ced did go a bit overboard on story, I do think a bit more would really help you out. Your cards overall seem just too focused on the land theme, and those that aren't related to land seem out of place, it's an unfortunate mix. However, I do see a bit more in there, with the creature subtheme and overall "protection of life" theme in your planeswalker.
As for your new cards, the new Dreven seems a little too similar to the old one. I would have like more of a transformation. It works though. Lava Lines and Barren frontier seem like much too punishing hosers. I would be terrified to play against them in many decks. Barren especially seems like it would warp the entire game of magic. One with the land is interesting, but makes a better enchantment I think, and I can't really tell if they are supposed to stay creatures. I think Gheos's flavor is cool, and how he is repenting. depending on the deck though, it may be a little strong not from his power, but the ability to get some much land. Considering your already at 5 though, seems fine.
In conclusion, I've voted for ced395. I loved the flavor and world, and there is some top notch innovation in this last batch. I feel really comfortable helping him towards the win for this month.
My apologies for the lateness, but the contest has ended. As a treat, let's see what I can whip up:
The dust had settled, the chaos silent. Everywhere, ruination is scattered endlessly, a fog of shredded reality hanging limply in the void of the Blind Eternities. In a storm of endless death, of utterly rended magic and a catastrophe-ridden world, as well as of the rare corpse of failed planeswalker, a single world remains, a final vestige of the challenge that has survived the Collapse.
A final world, with its share of scars, but perhaps one survived world is enough. A single victory, to a challenge started millenia ago, with a future that may not be so bleak.
And we're down to the final rounds of the April CCL, 2010! In the epic story of many planes, only two are left - ced395 and Krey - both on the verge of collapse. Only one can survive the tumults of the Blind Eternities. Which will it be?
The Challenge: Create six cards: one depicting your changed planeswalker, two depicting the effects of your collapsing plane, and three depicting your efforts to save your world.
Planeswalker - Syrilia (M)
+1: Draw a card, then reveal your hand.
+1: You gain life equal to target creature's toughness.
-2: For as long as you control Syrilia Parilis, prevent all damage that would be dealt to you and you can't be the target of spells or abilities opponents control.
[2]
Syrilia is a Planeswalker that hails from a long-dead unknown plane, one that simply collapsed on itself with all the damage caused by war and destruction. But, just before it did, Syrilia's Spark activated, and she 'Walked away just in time.
As a result of her harrowing experiences in her mortal life, Syrilia is a pacifist, and she searches the multiverse for a plane that shares this with her, a plane where there are no wars, and everything is calm.
But, she doesn't find it. She watches with horror as Phyrexian horrors spill onto Dominaria, she can't look as Levelers tear apart Mirrodin, she 'walks away as the spirit-Kami enter Kamigawa.
But, Syrilia can do something about this, of course. She is a planeswalker. What better way to find her own world than create it? But, how does she solve the problem of war, destruction and evil? But, is there anything she can base such a world on?
Despite the darkness of everything around her, Syrilia still finds a little spark of hope, a community without war. At least, not internal war. She finds the Slivers of Rath, creatures with a combined mind, which share intelligence, strengths and weaknesses. Surely, she reasons, this is an amazing gift with a lot of potential, but wasted on the vile and dangerous Slivers, who attack anything that isn't their own.
Of course, she thinks, the hive mind of the slivers can be used for peaceful purposes. In the sliver community, with a joint mind, internal peace can be the only result. The slivers understand eachother as they understand themselves, feel eachother's pain, but stop short of anything resembling 'good' by their otherwise violent nature. But, what if she gave this ability to another race, and created a plane where this Hive Mind, or a "Thoughtlink" as she calls it, prevails in everything. From there, no acts of war or evil can follow.
So, she sets this plan in motion. She creates a new plane, a new world in the image of her long-dead home, before it was ripped apart by unknown influences. To bring life to the plane, she takes a Sliver, and brings it to her world. Seperated from its mind by the Blind Eternities, the sliver is neutralized, and Syrilia can begin work. The sliver becomes a new Queen, the mother of all the races on the plane. These races, though, they are not Slivers themselves. They are elves, humans, merfolk, combined with the essence of the sliver, giving them all the same knowledge, and the ability to understand others, except that each single creation also possesses its own independent mind as well. Syrilia has created and populated the new plane, which she calls Paril.
But, there are two last things to do. Syrilia is aware that there are other Planeswalkers out there, and she knows what the influence of one could do to the perfect balance in her world. So, she summons the depths of her power, and shuts the plane off from the rest of the multiverse, shutting herself in in the process.
In addition, however, there is the matter of the one Sliver, brought to create the life of the plane, and required to live to sustain it. But, the inhabitants of the plane must not find this secret. So, she hides it, in a secret place that only she knows the location of. Even though Syrilia plans to join the inhabitants of the plane in their Thoughtlink after she has finished, she has enough power to conceal that knowledge from the rest of the Plane.
(well, that was longer than I expected)
Archive of Musings
(Art: The point of view is from somewhere near a top corner of a very large room. The room can be seen to be roughly a few hundred metres in width and length, and about 50m roof height. The room can be seen to be filled with bookshelves on a grand scale. These bookshelves are staggered, however, like a huge staircase. On each huge "step", there are tables and chairs, and people can be seen sitting down and writing. On each wall that horizontally seperates one step from the higher step, there are smaller rows of bookshelves, in which are many documents and books, with smaller staircases positioned intermittently which allow people to move between levels. You can see one of these huge "bookcase-staircases" in the foreground, and several similar ones in the background. The architecture is very ornate and beautiful, as though the people who built this were exactly in tune with the wishes of those who use it.)
Land (U)
:symtap:: Add 1 to your mana pool.
U, T: Each player reveals his or her hand.
The scholars of the Archive do not read the records. Instead, they write down everything they think, preserving the opinions and ideas that the Thoughtlink cannot carry.
Warning: Babies are killed in this flavor. I'm not a sick person, it just fits quite well.
But, the Thoughtlink was not as successful as Syrilia had hoped. At first, all was fine. The societies quickly joined as one, progressing through technologcal advances in mere years, where it would take centuries on other planes.
Then the cracks started to show.
The Thoughtlink was almost like an elastic sheet. It could cover everything when there were few people, and could stretch to accomodate more. But, soon enough, there were simply too many beings making use of it. Sometimes, a person would be shaken free from the Thoughtlink. The consequences for them would be terrible. The removal of the ability to feel and think with everybody else would make them feel as if they have gone blind, and would drive them into a murderous madness, when the sympathy for others was removed.
What Syrilia found most horrible, however, was the response of those still under the Thoughtlink. They executed them. Usually immediately, if possible, because their reliance on the Thoughtlink had removed any ability to understand the feelings of those that they couldn't directly experience. As such, funeral pyres soon appeared in every settlement, with the rise in "breakaways", as they became know. In addition, some were born outside of the thoughtlink. This was worse than a miscarriage for the mothers, and the babies had to be put to death. Though, Syrilia was aware that, infact, they were instinctively killed, like the breakaways. Was this a side of uncaring evil, that was showing in a world meant for benevolence? How had it come about?
But, even Syrilia wasn't aware of what the breakaways could be capable of. In the far steppe and wasteland regions of the plane, which the Thoughtlink had ignored for being useless, a select few of the "breakaways" had escaped, and had managed to get used to their new fates. They formed tribes and fought wars for supremacy, and eventually, they were united under the leadership of one leader, known within the tribes as Takreesh (his name while under Thoughtlink remains unknown). He gave the "breakaways" a new name, the "Freeminds".
Now under one banner, Takreesh readied the Freeminds for war on the unprepared Thoughtlink. The entire land of the Thoughtlink wbecame aware of them when they first struck, but they were not prepared for war, a concept that could never exist for them. Takreesh's army carved a bloody arc through the Thoughtlink, straining and stretching it, until more holes appeared, causing even more chaos and confusion.
At the last possible moment, Syrilia stepped in, leading Takreesh into a trap and killing him. The remainder of the Freeminds managed to escape, to reform and attack again, except that the severly depleted Thoughtlink could now prepare.
Syrilia knew that her world would never be the same, and never be truly what she wanted, so she decided that compromise must be possible. The advanced nature of the Thoughtlink meant that they could always attack, defend or recover far more quickly and far more efficiently, so she just had to wait until the Freeminds were defeated, then repair the Thoughtlink.
But, that would require that she journeyed to where the Sliver was hidden.
Rulings
-Essentially, Overload allows you to replace the costs of activating an activated ability with "Sacrifice ~". For example, if you have an artifact with Overload and "2, T: Draw a card.", you may use that same ability by sacrificing that artifact. Essentially, it's shorthand for the addition of "Sacrifice ~: Draw a card." on that artifact card.
-You may not activate activated abilities of creatures with summoning sickness that have
-You may however sacrifice instead of paying the normal cost of activated abilities involving
Creature - Human Barbarian (C)
3R: Target creature gets +3/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
Overload (Rather than pay any costs to activate an activated ability of this permanent, you may sacrifice it.)
"The torch is used for two things - to light the ballistas, and to keep the more cowardly warriors moving."
1/1
Syrilia transported herself instantly to the inner sanctum of the hiding place of the Sliver.
The sliver was the key to the Thoughtlink, and, through it, Syrilia could access the extent of its power, and keep it from breaking, a it was so close to doing.
Syrilia reached into the dormant sliver's mind, and was amazed at what she could see. It was like she was flying over the plane, except that, instead of the landscape, she could see the thoughtlink, what it encompassed, and what it didn't. Each individual was a dot, the brighter dots were those within the Thoughtlink, the duller ones outside it.
Even with the apparent distance, she could control the Thoughtlink with meticulous precision. She could channel its power onto individuals, Relinking them.
It was a time-consuming process, though, and no mistakes could be made. After hours passed, she stopped, and looked at the rest of the "map" before her. She could see the bright glare of the majestic cities of the Thoughtlink, and the dark glimmer of the Freemind tribe villages. She could also see her own representation on the "map", but it was far, far away from all the other dots of light. It was a brilliant representation of what the Thoughtlink has achieved, she thought.
But, then, something caught her eye. A movement. Not in the bright lights, but in the apparent nothingness between her and everything else. But, there was nothing there, surely. Just to test, she channeled the thoughtlink to this area.
On the map, a dot appeared, but only for a millisecond, before it disappeared again. For that same short time, she felt something on the corner of her mind: a counsciousness, there for a split second, then disappearing again. She also felt an echo of a stabbing pain, the type she (and the entire Thoughtlink) experienced during the Freemind war, that which comes with a sudden death.
"Strange" she mused. "Something was there which the Sliver can detect but the Thoughtlink can't, and being relinked kills it."
When she thought more on the matter, she realised something else unusual: the Thoughtlink was much, much tougher to break than she thought. This unique vision of it demonstrated that it surely had potential to reach to infinity. But, then, why were people breaking free of it?
She decided to investigate both the unknown creature found in the blankness, and the source of the breaking of the Thoughtlink, after finishing the Relinking.
Unknown forces were at work here.
And she knew what damage those could do.
Relink 1UU
(Art: A barbarian warrior, presumably one of the Freeminds, is seen. The background is nondescript and abstract. The angle is about halfway between front-on and side-on, so you can see both his eyes and behind him. The angle, zoom and posture is similar to that of Memory Erosion. A glowing blue thread can be seen entering the back of the warrior's head. A bright light can be seen emerging from the warrior's eyes, nostrils, ears and mouth.)
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature
At the beginning of your upkeep, any player may reveal his or her hand hand. If a player reveals more nonland cards than any other player this way, that player gains control of enchanted creature.
The Thoughtlink thirsts for knowledge to keep itself renewed.
Eventually, Syrilia finished the relinking. Mentally stepping back to survey her work, she admired her discovery of a solution to end this potentially disasterous conflict without any more blood being shed.
Taking a further step back, out of the realm of the guided imagination and into the real world, she found herself again in the inner chamber of the hideaway. What was she going to look at next? Ah, yes, what it was that was in the apparently empty space.
The inner sanctum had no obvious sources of light, but was being dimly illuminated by a trickle of light coming from somewhere else in this place. Syrilia decided to explore this place a little more (her memory of it was faded, with her locking it away from the rest of the Thoughtlink). So, she set off in pursuit of the light source.
Eventually, she found it: an apparently natural cave-chasm: She was deep underground. At the top, she could see a small opening in the rock, where blue sky shone through. The only path by foot up there was an apparently perilous wall of rock, that stacked like a sort of staircase on a giant scale. Even though the light had been found, only a little got through, and so the pathway up was not easily visible. Neither was what was lying in wait.
Syrilia opted to start climbing. She reasoned that something as simple as defying gravity, should she slip and fall, should be easy, compared to creating a world from scratch. Just before she reached the top, Syrilia found out that something else was in this cave.
Something jumped out of the shadows (admittedly, Syrilia thought, this was not technically correct, as everything in this place was shadows, and so it didn't jump out of them as so much as within them) at her. It wasn't a problem for her - only a blast of her concentration on it was enough to make it vanish into thin air. But, it was something, something not part of the Thoughtlink, nor ever was, or she would have noticed it here earlier.
Finally stepping out at ground level, it was plain to see what it was that was there but not there.
Slivers.
Thousands and thousands of them, covering the ground for miles to see. A tide of scuttling death, that nothing else mortal in the Plane could stop.
Shocked, she quickly intraplaneswalked back to the land of the Thoughtlink, before they could attack her again.
As she did this, she wondered: where had they come from? How long had they been here?
Had a second Sliver escaped through to this world, had a rift been left disasterously unopened? Had the slivers been a second string of descendants of what was now incorrectly titled the "last sliver"?
But, that was a secondary concern to her at the moment to the real one: surely, these slivers must be expanding their territory, based on where she found them with the Thoughtlink. So, how would she stop them overwhelming the rest of the life on the plane?
(Art: The focus is on the Elf Soldier, the captain, in the middle of a battle scene. He wears bright steel armor, and is raising his sword to the air in a silent call to charge. There are several other soldiers around him - most of them humans and elves, but with a goblin for those who look closely. Some look at the captain, and some look in the same direction as the captain does. WHat is noticable, however, is that each and every other soldier mimics part of the stance of the captain, be it a similar arm raised in the air, the facial expression, or a similar posture.)
Creature - Elf Soldier (R)
Vigilance
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control without a +1/+1 counter on it.
The mere presence of a Thoughtlink commander can pass tactical genius onto an entire army.
2/2
(Art: The scene is a rocky wasteland, the angle almost parallel to the ground from a position close to the surface. Roughly in the middle of the image stands a rock, on which is perched a sliver. In near distance can be seen a cloud of dust at ground level, in which a horde of slivers can be made out.)
Creature - Sliver (R)
All Slivers have "When this permanent enters the battlefield, search your library for a Sliver creature card that costs less, reveal it, and put it in your hand. Then shuffle your library."
Unceasing and unstoppable, the Tide has come.
2/3
Like the previous incarnations of the Slivers, they have a common centre of power, like a Queen, an Overlord or a Legion.
But this infestation functioned differently. The true "Queen" of the hive was the weakened sliver Syrilia originally brought to the Plane. But, over time, that sliver's remaining strength had permeated the walls of its hiding place. The sliver was not in the secret lair, it had become the lair itself - a place around which new Sliver life could usually be regenerated at least as fast as it was killed.
Sliver Lair WUBRG
Legendary Tribal Artifact - Sliver (M)
All Sliver creatures have "At the beginning of your upkeep, draw a card."
Whenever a Sliver creature is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
The Thoughtlink were at a major disadvantage. There was no experience or even a concept of war in a society with no hidden motives and no misunderstandings. The first attack of the Freeminds had taken advantage of that weakness with devasting effects. While the Thoughtlink could quickly recover and rebuild, the approach to war was considerably more sluggish than the approach to more peaceful pastimes. Memories of the weapons and armor of the Freeminds was used by blacksmiths to create copies, which could be advanced to be lighter and stronger via trial and error. Memories of the fighting styles could be memorized by one and passed on to everybody, and then refined through practice.
But, the fire in the bellies of the Freeminds could not be captured, and the low levels of courage of the soldier when on the battlefield, compared to the training ground, was worrying.
However, all over the Thoughtlink, new ideas were springing up, of ways to turn the concept of war into just more studying. Some people observed the fights of two soldiers, even novices, in a practice bout, and saw how the 1 on 1 played out, not just in front of their eyes, but in their heads, as the soldiers planned their moves while keeping in mind their opponents.
This art of knowing part of what could be coming, and predicting how it would all play out, was developed upon. By looking at the movements of slivers, what they did a moment before they struck, dodged, or let another sneak up behind, patterns could be found and taught via the exchange of memories.
The Thoughtlink had finally found a way to come to a war on their own terms, and only needed a few eyewitnesses to the sliver horde to pick up its deep secrets of attack.
Hereno's Spy 2U
Creature - Merfolk Rogue (C)
Islandwalk
When ~ enters the battlefield, Predict. If you are successful, draw a card. (To Predict, choose an opponent and name a nonland card. You are successful unless that opponent reveals their hand to contain no copies of the named card.)
Cunningness at a base level, a high awareness, the ability to silently escape and warn others - just a few of the traits that spies and Slivers share.
2/2
Syrilia never did find what force caused the Freeminds to become what they were, and it was able to quickly bring back the people to the tribes that had been almost wiped out. But, the Sliver invasion had finally reached the lands of all the other people. And, the Freeminds, out in their wilderness homes, were the first to get hit. They fought to conserve their way of life, but realized that they could not win against such numerous opposition. The survivors were forced to escape, and they only had one place left to go: back to the land of the Thoughtlink. There, they offered to the Thoughtlink people all that they could - their courage and creativity, the things that the Thoughtlink accidently discouraged, due to showing the average person every small thing anybody thought of as an idea, and every cut and bruise as something to fear.
They could teach their way to others in a way that the Thoughtlink couldn't, a way in which the Thoughtlink needed to progress in order to meet the Sliver threat.
Deviator Prodigy 2RR
Creature - Human Wizard
3UU, T: Change the target of target spell that targets only a single permanent or player.
Overload (Rather than pay any costs to activate an activated ability of this permanent, you may sacrifice it.)
"Putting the little spin on the energy to drive it off-course is easy. The hard part is choosing the new recipient.
3/3
But, the Freeminds had other ideas. They wanted to eventually defeat the Thoughtlink still, and realized that they could not do this when the Thoughtlink defeated the Slivers, because then they would be too strong. So, just when it looked like the Thoughtlink would win, the Freeminds gathered around a new leader, and attacked the Thoughtlink. This distraction allowed the Slivers to recover their losses, and attack anew.
Eventually, this led to a 3-way war, between the Thoughtlink, the Slivers, and the Freeminds. Syrilia knew that this would not end so easily with victory for one side, because, if one side was defeated, another side would obviously have an advantage, and so the third side would intervene.
So, she had to take different measures to deal with this: destroy one of the other sides herself.
However, something stopped her. Some unknown force, like the one that destroyed her home plane. She concentrated, trying to find it.
Then she found it. It was another Planeswalker, more specifically the current leader of the Freeminds. How had he got here, and did the Freeminds realize that they had so much power within their ranks?
It didn't matter. Whoever he was, he was obviously here, intent on causing the chaos that she had tried to stop happening. And, while she couldn't destroy the entirety of the Freeminds, she could still perform smaller acts of power, to bolster the strength of the Thoughtlink. But, she would have to truly abandon her dream of a world without war to do so.
Syrilia the Desperate 3WB
Planeswalker - Syrilia (M)
+3: Destroy target creature. That creature deals damage equal to its power to Syrilia the Desperate.
-X: Return target creature card with converted mana cost X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
-5: Exchange the life totals of two target players.
[4]
Inert Sliver
Tribal Land - Sliver (R)
All Slivers have ":symtap:: Add 1 to your mana pool."
4: Put a 1/1 colorless Sliver creature token onto the battlefield. Inert Sliver becomes a 1/1 creature in addition to its other types. (This effect doesn't end at end of turn.).
A planeswalker of chaos, his objective was to plunge the multiverse into war. He travelled from Plane to Plane, inciting devastation in each one.
He had heard of this plane, Paril, elsewhere, and how it was shut off from the rest of the Multiverse by the Planeswalker within. But he had managed to get in. Planeswalking wasn't the only way around, he had found.
This Plane was an interesting one, however. This Thoughtlink concept certainly made war an impossibility, but it did polarize those under it, and make them potentially unstable when not in the Thoughtlink. And he could break this Thoughtlink rather easily. The Freeminds were then his to lead.
But Zashid had a few more methods. He noted that, for the intuitive progress of the Thoughtlink, they had cared less for the world around them, building their cities quickly over the lands. But he could reverse that, accelerate the restoring process of the land, ripping apart the majestic buildings with roots and vines, breaking them with volcanic eruptions, destroying them with sinkholes, and flooding the streets. He could soon reduce a city to a wild paradise.
Primitive Flourishing 1RG
Enchantment (R)
When Primitive Flourishing enters the battlefield, draw a card.
All lands are Plains Island Swamp Mountain Forests.
Condensing Sphere WWUU
Instant (R)
Counter target activated or triggered ability from a creature source. If that ability was countered this way, destroy all creatures. (Mana abilities can't be countered.)
In one moment, the forcefield contracted, forcing the entire battlefield into the space of a particle.
Desperate Conclusion 2BB
Enchantment (M)
When Desperate Conclusion enters the battlefield, choose up to three cards you own from outside the game, and exile them face down.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life.
If you would lose the game, instead sacrifice Desperate Conclusion, then put the exiled cards in your hand and your life total becomes 1.
Heroic Shapeshifter 1UU
Creature - Shapeshifter Soldier (R)
4U: Heroic Shapeshifter becomes a copy of target creature, excpet that it retains its power and toughness, as well as both of its own abilities. (This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)
2W: Heroic Shapeshifter's power and toughness become equal to the total number of creatures target opponent controls as this ability resolves. (THis effect does't end at end of turn.)
0/3
My Planeswalker:
Dreven, Elemental Guardian :symg::symg::symg:
Planeswalker - Dreven
+1: You may put a land card from your hand into the battlefield.
-2: You may search your library for up to two land cards and put them into your hand. Shuffle your llibrary after searching.
-6: Lands you control become 3/3 green elemental creatures, they are still land.
[2]
My World:
Sanctuary of Nirjad
Legendary Land
Whenever a land other than Sanctuary of Nirjad enters the battlefield under your control, put a charge counter on Sanctuary of Nirjad.
Remove a charge counter from Sanctuary of Nirjad,:symtap:: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
:symg::symg::symg:,:symtap:: Return target land from your graveyard to the battlefield, that land enters the battlefield tapped.
My Creature:
The story:
After creating such a magnificent world, Dreven saw every detail. The rustle of the leaves of the forests, the moving grass of the plains, the cold peaks of the mountains, the reflections on the seas and the fog of the swamps.
Dreven then returned to the Sanctuary and delighted in his creation, but something was missing... this world would need someone to live in it. Dreven tought of humans, but he knew that if left alone in this world they would destroy it. Dreven then tought and came to realize that he would need someone to protect Nirjad, what better guardians than the trees that growth out of the land? and with that Dreven conjured again and many trees became truly alive. The treefolk gathered at the Sanctuary and Dreven spoke to them. "Thank you for coming here. You would be my Chosen guardians, you would protect this world. In return I would make you immortal. If you would fall, your energies will return to the land, so your energies will always be there to protect this world. Now go everywhere in this word and keep it safe." As Dreven ended his meeting the treefolk left in all directions. Dreven knew that his safeguard was in place, now the rest of the creatures of his world can arrive.
The Creature:
Dreven's Chosen :symg::symg::symg:
Creature - Treefolk (U)
Whenever a forest enters the battlefield, Dreven's Chosen gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
Reclaim :symg::symg::symg: (If Dreven's Chosen is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, add :symg::symg::symg: to your mana pool.)
2/2
They were the first born, serving Dreven in life and in death.
The Magics of Nirjad:
Resurging Sprouts :1mana::symg::symg:
Sorcery (U)
Exile all land cards in your graveyard. For each land card exiled this way put a 1/1 green elemental token onto the battlefield with Reclaim
"Dont worry for those that have fallen, for their souls are still among us." - Dreven, Elemental Guardian
Pro-Dreven's card:
Dreven's Enlightenment :2mana::symw:
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may search your library for a card with the same name as that creature , reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
The lessons that Dreven teached the humans were not lost, some took them to their heart and were rewarded for it.
Anti-Dreven's card:
Gheos,Impetus Visionary :3mana::symb::symr:
Legendary Creature - Human Warrior (R)
Other creatures you control gain haste and +1/+0.
Sacrifice a land: Regenerate Gheos, Impetus
Backlash - Destroy target land (Whenever this creature is dealt damage by a source you don't control, destroy target land.)
3/3
"We don't have to worship anyone, we are smart enough to think on our own and use all the resources we have as we see fit." - Gheos, Impetus Visionary
thousands of years later:
Broken Cycle :2mana::symw::symw:
Enchantment (R)
If a permanent would be put into a graveyard, exile it instead. If Broken Cycle would be put into a graveyard, shuffe it into your library instead.
The cycle of life that Dreven created was gone, a new one has replaced it.
Ancient Oak :3mana::symg::symg:
Creature - Treefolk (U)
Green creature spells you control cost
Legacy - Untap all lands you control (when Ancient Oak is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may untap all lands you control.)
2/6
They are the oldest among the creatures of Nirjad, they are the only ones that remember their origins.
Gheosian Priest :symb::symr:
Creature - Human Cleric (U)
Sacrifice a mountain,:symtap:: Add :symr::symr: to your mana pool.
Exile target land in your graveyard,:symtap:: Add :symb::symb: to your mana pool.
0/1
The followers of the prophet Gheos believed that it was Gheos that defeated the evil mage Dreven, who wanted to stop the progress their prophet wanted.
This round's cards:
Dreven, Elemental Protector 2GG
Planeswalker - Dreven (R)
+0: Search your library for a land card and put it into your hand.
+1: Target land becomes a 3/3 elemental creature. It is still a land. This effect does not end at end of turn.
-3: Gain two life for each land you control.
-8: Creatures you control get +5/+5 and trample until end of turn.
[4]
Lava Lines 1RRR
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a land enters the battlefield, that land controller sacrifice another land they control or Lava Lines deal 5 damage to that player.
"Each new discovery was filled with fire, rage and fury." - Roble, Treefolk Visionary
Barren Frontier
Legendary Land (M)
Whenever a land is tapped for mana, put a depletion counter on that land. Lands with depletion counter on produce 1 instead of their normal mana.
When Barren Frontier is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, destroy all lands with depletion counters on them.
Dreven saw how the mana was being drained and knew that the end was near.
One with the Land GGG
Sorcery (U)
Creatures you control loses all types and become lands with "add one mana of any colored mana symbol on this creature's mana cost to your mana pool.
Dreven saw the need of energy to sustain the plane and called for to his follower to make a sacrifice for Nirjad so all can live.
Elemental Attunement 2WUG
Enchantment (R)
Whenever a land enters the battlefield, all other lands becomes a copy of that land.
Sacrifice Elemental Attunement: All lands become a copy of target land until end of turn.
"I need to harmonize the mana of Nirjad to remove the chaotic elements from it, would it work? Who knows but something must be done." - Dreven, Elemental Protector
Gheos the Repentant 3WG
legendary Creature - Spirit Shaman (R)
Return target land card from your graveyard to the battlefield: Regenerate Gheos the Repentant.
Legacy - Shuffle your graveyard into your library.(when Gheos the Repentant would be put into a graveyard from the battlefield, exile it instead and shuffle your graveyard into your library.)
2/4
"It is too late that I realize the damage that I have done, I must help Nirjad in this time and not even the grave would stop me." - Gheos
The voting will go on for a week and end at 6PM, on the 12th of May, Eastern Standard Time. Please vote for who you think should win this month's CCL!
Thanks every who joined the CCL and made this month a blast! Awesome work guys.
Vote Up!
-Lanxal
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2
ced395:
I really like the story you have, the world you've built, and how it all came together in this challenge. It's cool that you don't have an one dimensional theme, but if it weren't for the story, it would be hard to see how your cards are connected. However, I do kind of see with this "creatures interact with other creatures" theme (While not exactly being tribal, although silvers kind of are).
I like the new walker, gives off a good flavor. I like the variety of cards you made, showing off lots of different facets of your world, some in very new ways (like the silver land and the forcefield). Each of your cards is very innovative, even if not perfectly balanced, and that's what really counts.
Krey:
I think you made some really strong cards throughout the competition, but I find the overall world you've been to be a bit narrow and lacking in flavor. While ced did go a bit overboard on story, I do think a bit more would really help you out. Your cards overall seem just too focused on the land theme, and those that aren't related to land seem out of place, it's an unfortunate mix. However, I do see a bit more in there, with the creature subtheme and overall "protection of life" theme in your planeswalker.
As for your new cards, the new Dreven seems a little too similar to the old one. I would have like more of a transformation. It works though. Lava Lines and Barren frontier seem like much too punishing hosers. I would be terrified to play against them in many decks. Barren especially seems like it would warp the entire game of magic. One with the land is interesting, but makes a better enchantment I think, and I can't really tell if they are supposed to stay creatures. I think Gheos's flavor is cool, and how he is repenting. depending on the deck though, it may be a little strong not from his power, but the ability to get some much land. Considering your already at 5 though, seems fine.
In conclusion, I've voted for ced395. I loved the flavor and world, and there is some top notch innovation in this last batch. I feel really comfortable helping him towards the win for this month.
Sets - Arcania
Competitions - CCL: March 2011, April 2011
Good luck to Ced395, it been pretty nice to compete with you.
Thanks to Lanxal for such a great month.
update:
Congrats Ced395, seems you won this month. See you at this month's CCL.
The dust had settled, the chaos silent. Everywhere, ruination is scattered endlessly, a fog of shredded reality hanging limply in the void of the Blind Eternities. In a storm of endless death, of utterly rended magic and a catastrophe-ridden world, as well as of the rare corpse of failed planeswalker, a single world remains, a final vestige of the challenge that has survived the Collapse.
A final world, with its share of scars, but perhaps one survived world is enough. A single victory, to a challenge started millenia ago, with a future that may not be so bleak.
Perhaps that's enough.
Congratulations ced395!
My Pauper Cube ♤ The Pauper Cube Thread Common Knowledge — 1 2