From time to time, everyone talks about new colors beyond WUBRG. The usually say, "Let's throw in purple" or "how about yellow", and then try to design an identity for it. The problem is that inserting something new into the color pie shifts identities, alliances, and oppositions around with the existing 5 colors, and makes things...confusing.
But what if there's an alternate reality where the original 5 colors had a totally different basis for their identities? Imagine a world where blue doesn't represent intelligence; red doesn't represent passion; green doesn't represent nature; white doesn't represent order; and black doesn't represent ambition. Imagine a world where the colors are each instead based upon the Five Senses.
Now, although I'm suggesting the original colors would have different identities, for the sake of clarity, this thread will not be using WUBRG, but instead will be using BOIPY:
(Ignore the symbols on them. These images were "borrowed" from the Magic Set Editor forums' smileys and had their own identities in mind.)
So I'll describe each of their identities, and then this thread will be everyone making cards in this bizarro color pie
BOIPY Color Pie
Yellow is based on sight. Thematically, it trusts what it sees and manipulates what others see; but that leads to problems when there's internal struggle, as they begin to trust things that are not what they seem. Mechanically, this might perhaps be represented by, for example, clones, color-changing/color-matters, type-changing/type-matters, transform cards, illusions, etc. Or something else--be creative!
Brown is based on hearing. Thematically, it trusts what it hears more than what it sees. This allows it to know certain things are happening even when it's not looking at them, but it also means when things are quiet, it's vulnerable. Mechanically, brown may do things like ignore buffs (they can hear what's under the visual tricks), flash in blockers (they can hear the enemy coming and prepare for ambush), etc.
Purple is based on touch/feeling. Thematically, it doesn't trust anything until it's got it in its hands. Similar to the existing red, purple is aggressive. It hits first and doesn't ask questions, because once it's made contact, it doesn't have any more questions. Mechanically, it's all about combat: asymmetrically high power and toughness (so 1/5 or 5/1 might both be common purple stats), attack triggers, block triggers, the whole nine yards of combat love.
Pink is based on taste. Thematically, it's big on eating. It'll eat just about anything, living or dead, safe or dangerous. Mechanically, it's very removal-focused: exile and destruction, often for buffs, and from just about any zone imaginable. It's like the removal of white and black had a child together. It also sometimes digests its victims and returns them broken, i.e. replaces a removed creature with a weaker or detrimental version in token form.
Orange is based on smell. It relishes in odors that would make others vomit, and often it relishes in the stench of their vomit as well. Mechanically, orange is big on withery things: -1/-1 counters, -X/-X effects, etc. It sometimes also scares away others with its stenches, leading to temporary removal (i.e. bouncing or straight-up flickering). And as the sense most tied to memory, orange is also the color of recursion, bringing spells back from the graveyard and even, when powerful enough, creatures. (Thanks to GG Crono for the memory suggestion!)
Enemies (Ignore until they're more developed and less..broken)
Purple vs Brown/Yellow (because purple needs to be hands-on, while brown and yellow can sense things in the distance)
Yellow vs Pink/Orange (because taste and smell are chemical senses, while yellow's sight doesn't rely on material things)
Orange vs Pink/Yellow (against yellow because it doesn't get close enough to smell anything, and against pink because once it eats something, it destroys the smell)
Brown vs Purple/Purple (because sight and touch are too "narrow" compared to brown's hearing)
Pink vs Orange/Brown (because smell and sound can only enjoy things vicariously, they can't absorb the things they enjoy)
(Note that clockwise in this new pie, the acronym is actually BOPIY...that's just less pronounceable.)
Some of that...needs work. I know. If you'd like to develop the identities more here, please do so! It'll be fun! You can even help decide which tribes belong to which color, including potentially new tribes! But now that the basics are laid down...
Here's the main point of this game/thread: design cards for this weird color pie (possible using the symbol images I provided, or else just using their letters from BOIPY). Make sure they fit the sense-based identities, but otherwise, feel free to be creative! New mechanics, new game dynamics, anything is possible in this bizarro world! Just as long as the overall framework is clearly MTG, anything goes
I'll start:
Sharpear Scout Creature - Elf
Listen (Whenever this blocks or is blocked by another creature, treat that creature as though it had only its printed power and toughness.) In the forests of Landinar, the Sharpears stand on the borders, listening for threats... and intruders aren't loud for long once they've been heard.
2/2
It's of course designed to ignore buffs. Two rulings: "In the case of variable printed power or toughness, treat all unknowns as 0s." Also, "If a creature would have a printed toughness of 0 after Listen is considered, it instead has a toughness of 1 for the purposes of the Listening creature."
Wet Dog1
Creature - Hound (C)
When Wet Dog enters the battlefield, exile another target creature until the beginning of your next upkeep. "Get it away from me!"
2/1
Not really sure how to generate those symbols. But here's my stab at a card:
Hyper Warrior 1PY
Creature - Human Warrior (R)
At the beginning of any player's combat step, you may choose to reverse Hyper Warrior's power and toughness until the end of the turn. If so, put a +1/+1 counter on Hyper Warrior.
1/5
Talk about an ambitious idea. I can't say I agree with everything you put forth but I have to give you kudos for what you're trying to make work.
One distinct thing about smell is that they say it's the sense that's the best at evoking memories. That seems like it should factor into the flavor.
Incense of Remembrance OO
Sorcery (R)
Choose target instant or sorcery spell in a graveyard. You may cast that spell this turn and spend mana as if it were mana of any color to cast it. If you do, exile that spell. Exile Incense of Remembrance.
I'm liking the ideas so far! And yeah, I know my ideas aren't perfect... especially the enemy colors (I'm pretty sure I said brown is against purple and also purple... the color wheel is confusing me >_< ). So as I said, any and all ideas are welcome!
The idea of orange being the recursion color because of memory is brilliant! I will definitely be editing that into the original post! Thanks, GG Crono
If anyone has any idea how to fix the enemy colors thing so that they...you know, work... that would be a great help. I went through three iterations and apparently still screwed it up
And, @Figurative, next to each icon I put the URL to the image, so just put it in [*img] tags (without the * of course) to get the symbol.
Digestive Rat Creature - Rat
When Digestive Rat enters the battlefield, destroy target creature with toughness 2 or less, then put a +1/+1 counter on Digestive Rat. Some call it a crunch, others a squish. Those who know it best just call it an omnomnom.
1/1
*EDIT* So, given the BOPIY color wheel (in that order), I think it ends up with the following enmities:
*Purple vs Brown/Yellow
*Pink vs Brown/Orange
Yellow vs Orange/Purple
Brown vs Pink/Purple
*Orange vs Yellow/Pink
The ones with *'s are ones that I got right in the OP and so they at least have tentative explanations (that could definitely use work). But I don't know how to explain the other two at all. Why would sight be against both smell and touch? And why would hearing be against both taste and touch?
Lost In Reflection2
Enchantment
Whenever a nontoken creature you control attacks, you may exile it. If you do, you may return target instant or sorcery spell in your graveyard with converted mana cost equal to the exiled creature's to your hand. As Thrag charged across the pitch, he was found himself consumed by memories of his childhood love, Ghroggis. This was their field.
Visionshift Glutton 2
Creature - Horror
When Visionshift Glutton destroys a creature, exile that creature. Visionshift Glutton becomes a copy of that creature as long as that creature is exiled, except it retains this abiity. Return that creature to its onwer's graveyard if another creature is exiled this way.
3/3
Chromeleon 2
Creature - Lizard 2: Choose a color, Chromeleon becomes that color. t: Add one mana of Chromeleon's color to your mana pool.
1/2
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Pop in, find a dragon, roast a dragon."
-Chandra Nalaar
Alert Wrestler1
Creature - Ape Warrior
Alert Wrestler blocks each turn if able and can block an additional creature. 4: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn and attacks this turn if able. 4: Target creature can block an additional creature this turn. Until end of turn, whenever that creature blocks a creature, put a +1/+1 counter on it at end of combat. "Try to catch me off guard and you'll be caught in a terrible snare!"
1/3
Taste - Feel, Smell - See Feel below. Taste and smell obviously go together.
Smell - Taste, Sight - See Taste above. Invisible gases can be lethal, so smell enhances awareness of things you can't see. e.g. we add odor to let us know presence of methane gas.
Sight - Smell, Hear - See Smell above. Sight and hearing and smell are long distance senses. We can interact greatly with just audiovisuals, e.g. games, movies, arts, etc.
Hear - Sight, Feel - See Sight above. Without echo location and vision, blind people must rely on touch to assist them.
Feel - Hear, Taste - See Hear above. Eating is enhanced by texture of food. Also babies first learn by touching and putting things in their mouth.
But what if there's an alternate reality where the original 5 colors had a totally different basis for their identities? Imagine a world where blue doesn't represent intelligence; red doesn't represent passion; green doesn't represent nature; white doesn't represent order; and black doesn't represent ambition. Imagine a world where the colors are each instead based upon the Five Senses.
Now, although I'm suggesting the original colors would have different identities, for the sake of clarity, this thread will not be using WUBRG, but instead will be using BOIPY:
Brown (B): ( http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/smile/magic/emana.gif )
Orange (O): ( http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/smile/magic/omana.gif )
Pink (I): ( http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/smile/magic/kmana.gif )
Purple (P): ( http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/smile/magic/pmana.gif )
Yellow (Y): ( http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/smile/magic/cmana.gif )
(Ignore the symbols on them. These images were "borrowed" from the Magic Set Editor forums' smileys and had their own identities in mind.)
So I'll describe each of their identities, and then this thread will be everyone making cards in this bizarro color pie
BOIPY Color Pie
Enemies (Ignore until they're more developed and less..broken)
Yellow vs Pink/Orange (because taste and smell are chemical senses, while yellow's sight doesn't rely on material things)
Orange vs Pink/Yellow (against yellow because it doesn't get close enough to smell anything, and against pink because once it eats something, it destroys the smell)
Brown vs Purple/Purple (because sight and touch are too "narrow" compared to brown's hearing)
Pink vs Orange/Brown (because smell and sound can only enjoy things vicariously, they can't absorb the things they enjoy)
(Note that clockwise in this new pie, the acronym is actually BOPIY...that's just less pronounceable.)
Some of that...needs work. I know. If you'd like to develop the identities more here, please do so! It'll be fun! You can even help decide which tribes belong to which color, including potentially new tribes! But now that the basics are laid down...
Here's the main point of this game/thread: design cards for this weird color pie (possible using the symbol images I provided, or else just using their letters from BOIPY). Make sure they fit the sense-based identities, but otherwise, feel free to be creative! New mechanics, new game dynamics, anything is possible in this bizarro world! Just as long as the overall framework is clearly MTG, anything goes
I'll start:
Sharpear Scout
Creature - Elf
Listen (Whenever this blocks or is blocked by another creature, treat that creature as though it had only its printed power and toughness.)
In the forests of Landinar, the Sharpears stand on the borders, listening for threats... and intruders aren't loud for long once they've been heard.
2/2
It's of course designed to ignore buffs. Two rulings: "In the case of variable printed power or toughness, treat all unknowns as 0s." Also, "If a creature would have a printed toughness of 0 after Listen is considered, it instead has a toughness of 1 for the purposes of the Listening creature."
SOMEONE KEEP IT UP
To continue to pie:
Wet Dog 1
Creature - Hound (C)
When Wet Dog enters the battlefield, exile another target creature until the beginning of your next upkeep.
"Get it away from me!"
2/1
GWU Bant Manifest - The Future Is Here. Or it will be at the end of turn. GWU
Hyper Warrior 1PY
Creature - Human Warrior (R)
At the beginning of any player's combat step, you may choose to reverse Hyper Warrior's power and toughness until the end of the turn. If so, put a +1/+1 counter on Hyper Warrior.
1/5
Modern
UBR Grixis Control
U Merfolk
Pauper
U Mono U Delver
Ancestral Visions is freed
One distinct thing about smell is that they say it's the sense that's the best at evoking memories. That seems like it should factor into the flavor.
Incense of Remembrance OO
Sorcery (R)
Choose target instant or sorcery spell in a graveyard. You may cast that spell this turn and spend mana as if it were mana of any color to cast it. If you do, exile that spell. Exile Incense of Remembrance.
The idea of orange being the recursion color because of memory is brilliant! I will definitely be editing that into the original post! Thanks, GG Crono
If anyone has any idea how to fix the enemy colors thing so that they...you know, work... that would be a great help. I went through three iterations and apparently still screwed it up
And, @Figurative, next to each icon I put the URL to the image, so just put it in [*img] tags (without the * of course) to get the symbol.
Digestive Rat
Creature - Rat
When Digestive Rat enters the battlefield, destroy target creature with toughness 2 or less, then put a +1/+1 counter on Digestive Rat.
Some call it a crunch, others a squish. Those who know it best just call it an omnomnom.
1/1
*EDIT* So, given the BOPIY color wheel (in that order), I think it ends up with the following enmities:
The ones with *'s are ones that I got right in the OP and so they at least have tentative explanations (that could definitely use work). But I don't know how to explain the other two at all. Why would sight be against both smell and touch? And why would hearing be against both taste and touch?
Lost In Reflection 2
Enchantment
Whenever a nontoken creature you control attacks, you may exile it. If you do, you may return target instant or sorcery spell in your graveyard with converted mana cost equal to the exiled creature's to your hand.
As Thrag charged across the pitch, he was found himself consumed by memories of his childhood love, Ghroggis. This was their field.
GWU Bant Manifest - The Future Is Here. Or it will be at the end of turn. GWU
Creature- Dog
Flash
"The eyes are removed in hopes of bettering the ears."
Revolting Trogg -- 2O
Creature -- Troglodyte Warrior
Intimidate
2/2
Basic.
Or, it could have a new ability:
Revolting Trogg -- 2O
Creature -- Troglodyte Warrior
Stench 2 (Each Nonorange creature can't block this creature unless its controller pays 2.)
2/2
Creature - Horror
When Visionshift Glutton destroys a creature, exile that creature. Visionshift Glutton becomes a copy of that creature as long as that creature is exiled, except it retains this abiity. Return that creature to its onwer's graveyard if another creature is exiled this way.
3/3
Chromeleon 2
Creature - Lizard
2: Choose a color, Chromeleon becomes that color.
t: Add one mana of Chromeleon's color to your mana pool.
1/2
-Chandra Nalaar
Creature - Ape Warrior
Alert Wrestler blocks each turn if able and can block an additional creature.
4: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn and attacks this turn if able.
4: Target creature can block an additional creature this turn. Until end of turn, whenever that creature blocks a creature, put a +1/+1 counter on it at end of combat.
"Try to catch me off guard and you'll be caught in a terrible snare!"
1/3
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Taste - Feel, Smell - See Feel below. Taste and smell obviously go together.
Smell - Taste, Sight - See Taste above. Invisible gases can be lethal, so smell enhances awareness of things you can't see. e.g. we add odor to let us know presence of methane gas.
Sight - Smell, Hear - See Smell above. Sight and hearing and smell are long distance senses. We can interact greatly with just audiovisuals, e.g. games, movies, arts, etc.
Hear - Sight, Feel - See Sight above. Without echo location and vision, blind people must rely on touch to assist them.
Feel - Hear, Taste - See Hear above. Eating is enhanced by texture of food. Also babies first learn by touching and putting things in their mouth.
........................