Cool one-off legend there! I do still want to have "minor" plane and flavor references here and there.
I don't like Tarkir-frenzy, not because I don't like Tarkir or want to revisit it, but the Dragon thing will pull focus just like Theros's other elements would pull focus from avow. I'll try to put up fuller proposals for my plane ideas later but I'm in favor of the labyrinth world thing but not necessarily Xerex.
If I can chime in, this is what I think right now.
...
You can, absolutely!
It's funny how a lot of our thinking is on the same page. I mean, we're not coming to the same conclusions, but we're using the same elements. I've been pondering how to wrap Dominaria into things, and I've also been thinking that either Sarkhan or Narset might make for one of the better "returning" PWs.
So, I want to float an idea by people. What would people think about allowing the story elements I was working on in Dominaria / Call to Glory blocks as givens, for L2? I'm probably never going to work on those sets again, as I would have to change a million things to keep them in continuity with the things that WotC has done since I started them, but I still feel pretty strongly about the branching path that I was attempting to create with those two sets, and think that the events I was trying to capture would be a great lead-in for L2. To recap:
Unbeknownst even to Teferi and those others who sacrificed much to heal the Dominarian time rifts, the Mending returned the lost polar continent of Kaldheim — exiled as a demi-plane by the first Thran in ancient times — to Dominaria. And with it, the original practitioners of native Dominarian snow magic, the Kaldarjar. (The Kaldarjar were the forerunners of later Kjeldons, Keldons, and others who managed to escape the Thran ritual and remain as remnant factions on Dominaria.)
The Kaldarjar, biding their time in secret in the years since the Mending, strike out at a reborn, yet secretly corrupt Coalition. The Coalition has inadventently, through the machinations of Bolas and his puppets in the Balshan Bay Company, created a series of planar artifacts — Crucibles — to artificially ignite the sparks of mortals yet put them wholly under Bolas's control.
Discovering Bolas's betrayal and learning the truth about the Kaldarjar, the Elfhames of Llanowar split from the Coalition and change sides in the midst of the war, making a Kaldarjar victory inevitable.
Learning of the deeper nature of Dominarian snow magic — that under the returned presence of Kaldheim it has the power to seal off all mana lines and make planeswalking to or from Dominaria impossible once again, as it was before the Thran — The Academy at Tolaria West and the Ghitu of Shiv abandon the plane en masse, to locations unknown. With their allies turned enemies or fled, the Awene of Femeref make a final, hopeless stand to regain their honor in death, and are utterly destroyed, along with most of the smaller allied powers of the Coalition.
The Kaldarjar and the Llanowar Elfhames unite to finally undo the Thran ritual and plunge Dominaria back into an eternal ice age, as it was in the beginning. All mana lines to and from Dominaria are severed, removing it from its place in the Nexus of the Multiverse and causing Multiverse-wide upheaval of interplanar travel. Old paths between worlds are lost, new paths to forgotten worlds created, and many planeswalkers become irrevocably lost in the chaos... while others return.
Dominaria is finally whole, at peace, and utterly unreachable once again. A gentle snow falls on the pines and campfires of Llanowar.
Meanwhile, none of this has affected the remote, disconnected plane of Kamigawa in the slightest. Exceedingly few planeswalkers know of Kamigawa's existence, and even fewer know how to ride the interplanar paths to and from the physically- and temporally-isolated plane. Even those who know almost never travel to or from the plane, as a single year spent elsewhere will see nearly a hundred years pass on Kamigawa. Those who leave, tend to leave for good. Those who stay, tend to stay for good.
Both Kamigawa's mortal and spirit worlds have reached the end of their patience with the deprivations of the Oni. The Shogun, Rin Akayagi, issues a great Call to mortals and spirit alike: to venture forth into Jigoku, the realm of the Oni, pierce Hell's heart, and defeat the Oni forever. Pale-Eyes, the Myobu of Jukai, is the only figure in the Shogun's court to dissent from the mission. The Shogun allows the Myobu to follow his/her conscience, and Pale-Eyes begins a mendicant journey to far-flung regions of the plane for reasons only he/she fully understands.
The armies of Kamigawa's mortal and spirit worlds descend into Jigoku and strike a great blow. However, in single combat against Kuro, Shogun Akayagi suffers a mortal wound, and while defeating the demon, herself dies in his lair and is buried there. Mourning their fallen leader, her court nevertheless carries out her greatest wish: that the doors to Jigoku be forever closed.
Using magic from ancient scrolls not employed anywhere in the Multiverse for millennia, the wizards of Minamo expel the entire realm of Jigoku into the Blind Eternities.
Though victory is seemingly won, strange murmurs begin to be spoken across the plane of Kamigawa. The ancient and immortal Uba, speaking their indecipherable language of song and riddles, cross paths with Pale-Eyes and reveal visions of Kamigawa's prehistory, and dire warnings about the plane's future. The secretive and seductive Ningyo likewise speak to Pale-Eyes about the great flow of mana through Kamigawa, and express their distress at the new break in the current caused by Jigoku's expulsion. The power of the Kami throughout the realm begins to seep away through ever-lengthening fissures caused by the cracking-away of Jigoku into the unknown beyond.
Suddenly and shockingly, the tsunami of mana lines caused by Dominaria's departure from the Nexus reaches distant Kamigawa, and the spreading fissures become great rifts through which the Kami disappear entirely. And, as these mana lines carve their winding paths throughout the Multiverse, they settle on a new convergence — Kamigawa takes its place as the center of the new Nexus. Strangers from a thousand different realms suddenly descend on Kamigawa, woken from their isolation and empowered by new, prominent pathways of travel.
Among other assorted strangeness: Baron Sengir and his vampire army overtake Eiganjo Castle, turning many of its Samurai defenders into vampires in the process, and the Baron re-styles himself Daimyo Sengir; Mercadia City is transported in its upside-down entirety into coastal waters, and its rulers begin a campaign of piracy and extortion against the mainland as well as a campaign of suppression against the unprepared but rebellious Ningyo; and the Vanished trolls of Tel-Jilad appear with their exotic (but thankfully, uncorrupted) Mirran technology, including their enormous slagwurms that begin to carve a destructive path across the plane.
So, with all that table-setting, I am now proposing that our story begin in frozen Sarpadia (intentionally left unvisited by me during Dominaria block), as some rogueish straggler of a planeswalker discovers one unlikely, last-ditch chance to escape from Dominaria, not by planeswalking, but by way of a direct flight through the Blind Eternities — on the wings of an Elder Dragon.
I've always loved your storytelling for custom sets, so yeah, I'm down for having all of that as lead-ins.
To shift gears into the main story: My proposal for frenzy is (a somehow-altered version of) my recent mini-plane Kagaqeirrot and for avow I am still backing Shadowmoor. My original elevator pitch for Kagaqeirrot included a vague reference to the "ice-sickness", which was always a one-off reference to an infamous culture-bound disorder seen in the Arctic. I'm thinking some outside force (a failed Phyrexian incursion?) once tried to utilize this disease and now it's spreading to unseen proportions. Meanwhile, I'm picturing a Lorwyn-Shadowmoor in "balance" but still reeling from the effects of the Aurora, and the inhabitants who remained in their Shadomoor forms essentially with a coup underway to fully restore the night side, using geases to alter the people and the land.
Upkeep - Dominaria? This might be fitting because of Time Spiral's time theme, but as we all know it had some big problems. I kinda like it because the original Legends was set there, so it might help with the nostalgia angle. I think the planeswalker should be someone new (Or maybe Tuknir?).
Upkeep - Dominaria? This might be fitting because of Time Spiral's time theme, but as we all know it had some big problems. I kinda like it because the original Legends was set there, so it might help with the nostalgia angle. I think the planeswalker should be someone new (Or maybe Tuknir?).
If we do it, we'll somehow have to reconcile that plane's snow themes with, A) the fact that L2 isn't doing snow mana (unless you want to propose that it does); and, B) the fact that my continuity asserts that snow magic is THE uniquely Dominarian magic, i.e. it's fundamental to what Dominaria is and it doesn't really exist anywhere else. And I'm not saying we have to use my continuity, but I'd rather ditch my continuity for L2 rather than change it in that way.
Of course, you know, it snows on other planes, too.
So if we can do Kagaqueirrot without doing snow magic, I'm all for it. Maybe we don't start off on Dominaria / Sarpadia after all. That was really just my way of spinning the idea of a cold and isolated "winter frenzy" plane. But hey, thinking about it, it's probably best if we don't dip right back into the Dominaria setting if we're using my stuff as backstory, as L2 presumably takes place right after those six sets (and before Raksu).
So again, Kagaqueirrot without snow magic = I'm all in. With snow magic, I can be in but we have to readjust some expectations / mechanics.
Maybe we could start by thinking on planeswalkers that could fit. That might give us a sense of the right plane.
Sarkhan or Narset - Their homeworld of Tarkir gives them an affinity with dragons (Affinity for Dragons hype! ). If the story is centered around Elder Dragons, one of these should be a great fit.
Guesswork's suggesstion - sounds cool!
Avoworld - to me, avow seems like a very GW-centered mechanic. Maybe Lorwyn fits, but why not create a new world? If we go with Tarkir and Dominaria that's two returning planes. Maybe an arena-plane of paired battles? (Kolbahan?)
Wallworld - We'll have to see Guesswork's idea, but walls give (me at least) a sense of castles, warlords and great medieval battles. Maybe a tactician planeswalker? I have no idea how to translate that to mechanics, but I think it's cool. Maybe he's a servant of bolas?
Segovia - We have no idea what kind of creatures live in Segovia except for Leviathans. Maybe a tiny humanoid planeswalker who shrinks others to teach them a lesson? After all, this is the nonblack world, so she might want to punish those who mistreat the weak (or small.) By the way, we might want to rename Segovia, as it's also a city in Spain - but maybe that doesn't matter.
And another one-off design:
Squee, Unlikely Survivor1R
Legendary Creature - Goblin (R)
First strike
If Squee, Unlikely Survivor would die, instead flip a coin. If you win the flip, exile Squee, then return him to the battlefield under your control. If you lose the flip, exile Squee.
2/1
Sarkhan or Narset - Their homeworld of Tarkir gives them an affinity with dragons (Affinity for Dragons hype! ). If the story is centered around Elder Dragons, one of these should be a great fit.
I'm thinking that we tap Sarkhan as our returning walker, but skip Tarkir.
Sarkhan is a natural fit for a storyline that hinges around finding lost Elder Dragons. Such a good fit that it doesn't really matter where we first run into him. Tarkir just isn't necessary; Sarkhan brings all the necessary with him.
I am, of course, in love with the idea of Tuknir-as-planeswalker, so I'm going to hold onto that as a possibility. He also has a fairly Raksu-sounding name so I may even claim that as his home plane. If for some reason he doesn't work out in L2 I'm just going to grab him for Raksu. In any case, if not Tuknir, I think it would be cool to promote some existing character to PW status, so that's gonna be my proposal.
I'm thinking that we do one or two more planeswalkers, but make them brand new creations. I have no suggestions other than not to make all of our planeswalkers human dudes, but branch out and do a non-human, a female, and/or a non-human female. Oh, and also to make sure that we have fairly adequate color coverage between the walkers, though it doesn't have to be perfect.
Segovia - We have no idea what kind of creatures live in Segovia except for Leviathans. Maybe a tiny humanoid planeswalker who shrinks others to teach them a lesson? After all, this is the nonblack world, so she might want to punish those who mistreat the weak (or small.) By the way, we might want to rename Segovia, as it's also a city in Spain - but maybe that doesn't matter.
Then what do you think of this? It could be a faerie.
I think we basically substitute chariot racing as the Segovian cultural equivalent of bullfighting and call it square.
EDIT: Also, a hada planeswalker from Segovia sounds just fine, but I will caution that shrink in this set is a NONBLACK mechanic, and also a mechanic represented via -1/-1 counters, whereas applying -1/-1 counters to your opponents creatures is still a very black thing to do. So, if this is going to be a "shrinking" planeswalker, I think it probably needs to shrink your own stuff rather than your opponent's stuff.
Really chariot racing is ancient Roman more than it is Greek (the Greeks were more into the stuff with more naked, oily dudes). And Roman Hispania was a thing...
EDIT: Also, a hada planeswalker from Segovia sounds just fine, but I will caution that shrink in this set is a NONBLACK mechanic, and also a mechanic represented via -1/-1 counters, whereas applying -1/-1 counters to your opponents creatures is still a very black thing to do. So, if this is going to be a "shrinking" planeswalker, I think it probably needs to shrink your own stuff rather than your opponent's stuff.
(Yes, I just quoted myself.)
I want to amend that statement by saying that, I DO suppose that PWs are somewhat above the rules of any given set, so if you wanted this Faerie PW to dole out -1/-1 counters to your opponent and/or be black, I guess that's a fair ball.
Also, there is black mana on Segovia, it's just not represented via the shrink mechanic. So if this was, for example, a blue/black Faerie PW, that would fit perfectly fine. I guess I just want people to be mindful of the color weights that have been assigned to the various mechanics. But if we have to bend the rules, I do think that a PW is the most legitimate place to do that.
Really chariot racing is ancient Roman more than it is Greek (the Greeks were more into the stuff with more naked, oily dudes). And Roman Hispania was a thing...
With that in mind, we could even reprint Arena of the Ancients if we wanted a legend hoser, which I'm not sure we want.
About the Faerie planeswalker: My idea was that she wanted to help the smaller creatures in a giant, hostile world. Because she's from the nonblack world, she values community and helping the weak (or, in this case, small). She doesn't have to be blue-black - I thought more of a Bant-colored card. But that's just my suggestion.
About the Faerie planeswalker: My idea was that she wanted to help the smaller creatures in a giant, hostile world. Because she's from the nonblack world, she values community and helping the weak (or, in this case, small). She doesn't have to be blue-black - I thought more of a Bant-colored card. But that's just my suggestion.
Bant could work, although I like the idea of a little bit of mischief and selfishness. Let's pencil in some of the details, but save the ink for later. We've still got a lot to pencil in! I think for right now, "Faerie PW from Segovia" is a nifty concept that we can work with. Colors / personality / motives / powers can be an ongoing discussion.
So, ruling out Raksu, Dominaria, and a Celtic plane, who has what for Old School Upkeep?
Did we rule out Raksu? I thought it was still in the running for oldschoolupkeeplandia.
Strike against: antarcticfrenzyworld is already a fairly desolate locale, do we need two, even if their temperature differences are extreme?
Strike for: I still like the idea of a lead-in to Raksu, and I'm full of ideas. Old school upkeep doesn't NOT fit. I could find an angle.
Strike against: I could probably find a better lead-in for Raksu than old school upkeep (maybe not in L2, or maybe as a Raksu-ian legend in L2... or maybe I could use Tuknir!)
OK, if Tuknir is in the set as a PW, I can let go of the idea of doing Raksu as oldschoolupkeeplandia. I talked myself out of it.
Heck, I can let go of it even if Tuknir isn't in the set.
I'll start brainstorming replacement ideas for the old school upkeep setting.
I mean, I don't dislike Raksu for this, but I don't want to go double dystopia and I don't want all of us to set up stuff that you don't want for the lead-up into the Raksu story. It would also be nice if the whiteless world was a little bit more pleasant in comparison to Jund and Grixis.
I'm not that good with storyline stuff, but mechanically it seems like nonwhite-world is a better fit for Shrink and nonblack-world is a better fit for Upkeep. Did I miss something and just state the obvious?
I'm not that good with storyline stuff, but mechanically it seems like nonwhite-world is a better fit for Shrink and nonblack-world is a better fit for Upkeep. Did I miss something and just state the obvious?
Nonblack Segovia feels really good and Segovia and shrink go hand in hand, and a mechanic that lets you make weenies seems quite good for something that includes white... Flavorfully it's very justified and mechanically it avoids the obviousness trap.
Meanwhile, you can't have upkeep without black. It's just not done. Lord of the Pit would cry.
I'm not that good with storyline stuff, but mechanically it seems like nonwhite-world is a better fit for Shrink and nonblack-world is a better fit for Upkeep. Did I miss something and just state the obvious?
Nonblack Segovia feels really good and Segovia and shrink go hand in hand, and a mechanic that lets you make weenies seems quite good for something that includes white... Flavorfully it's very justified and mechanically it avoids the obviousness trap.
Meanwhile, you can't have upkeep without black. It's just not done. Lord of the Pit would cry.
<<<< All this.
Additionally, I want to say that shrink is being put forward as a benign and/or advantageous mechanic, so black shrink doesn't actually make a ton of sense. (Even if we had black shrink, I think we'd still want to keep the rule of -1/-1 counter on your own creatures only.) If ever there were a -1/-1 counter mechanic that didn't need black, I think this is the one.
We could still, I think, do old-school fantasy for upkeep world while differentiating it from Raksu: Tarzan-inspired jungle stuff? Seemingly drug-fueled wackiness Wizard of Oz or "Kubla Khan" style? Or else an extremely resource-rich plane with lots of trade and intrigue, somehow done differently than Mercadia?
Oh, and I like scrad's medieval siege world idea for Walls too.
We could still, I think, do old-school fantasy for upkeep world while differentiating it from Raksu: Tarzan-inspired jungle stuff? Seemingly drug-fueled wackiness Wizard of Oz or "Kubla Khan" style? Or else an extremely resource-rich plane with lots of trade and intrigue, somehow done differently than Mercadia?
I don't know what, but there's something about Wizard of Oz that's on the right track, IMO. Or, if I may suggest, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen?
Maybe the idea here is that everything is essentially a tall tale, a fanciful exaggeration, and the upkeep cost represents the commitment to telling a whopper of a good story.
Oh, and I like scrad's medieval siege world idea for Walls too.
Well, so... here's where I diverge on that.
It doesn't inspire me to a lot of different or varied designs. I'm thinking "Castle Wall", "Bigger Castle Wall", etc. I don't feel like there's 10-20 cards there.
What I'm wanting to do is to get WEIRD. Basically, to push the idea of "Wall" as far as it can go. I want to do strange, conceptualthingslikeLegendsdid. So, I'm imagining this world as an endless labyrinth of diverse and unexpected puzzles, dangers to surmount, obstacles to overcome. Let's be honest, I think you've got to pull out all the stops to make the idea of Wall tribal work. I don't think you can restrict it to one milieu, such as a medieval castle siege world.
The thing is, if Upkeep land isn't Dominaria, then we need to think of a new plane that isn't a hellscape like Grixis or Jund, isn't cartoonishly evil like the Sultai, and isn't an intrigue and politics like Mercadia or Fiora. We also want a world where all the upkeep stuff make sense. That made me think about the Temur. They are a nonwhite faction, and their shamans see the future (the unwritten), which could give them a time theme.
I'm not saying we should do the Temur. I'm saying that maybe they will be a good source of inspiration for this world. Maybe here we have a lush jungle plane, instead of a frozen tundra, to not overlap with the frenzy world, and maybe the shamans of this world are adept at twisting the time. Maybe there is some force that is corrupting the timelines and the shamans that use them, and forces them to do his bidding? I'm just throwing ideas, but I think that something that's based on the Temur could be a good starting point to a fresh-feeling nonwhite faction.
That's what I meant by thinking the same thing - the first thing that came to mind for upkeepworld was Dominaria, but really Dominaria is WUBRG, so it wouldn't be the optimal choice. Second thing that came to mind was Jund+Grixis-land, but I also don't want it to be pure-evil-plane. So the next next thing that came immediately to mind was primordial jungle / Tarzan-land. Perhaps a world of beasties (Dinosaurs?) instead of typical humaoids? Instead of Humans, Elves, Goblins, etc., there's Catmen, Dogmen, Birdmen,, Beastmen, Pumaman, etc. Or just tons of wild animals (like Dinosaurs).
I don't like Tarkir-frenzy, not because I don't like Tarkir or want to revisit it, but the Dragon thing will pull focus just like Theros's other elements would pull focus from avow. I'll try to put up fuller proposals for my plane ideas later but I'm in favor of the labyrinth world thing but not necessarily Xerex.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
It's funny how a lot of our thinking is on the same page. I mean, we're not coming to the same conclusions, but we're using the same elements. I've been pondering how to wrap Dominaria into things, and I've also been thinking that either Sarkhan or Narset might make for one of the better "returning" PWs.
So, I want to float an idea by people. What would people think about allowing the story elements I was working on in Dominaria / Call to Glory blocks as givens, for L2? I'm probably never going to work on those sets again, as I would have to change a million things to keep them in continuity with the things that WotC has done since I started them, but I still feel pretty strongly about the branching path that I was attempting to create with those two sets, and think that the events I was trying to capture would be a great lead-in for L2. To recap:
- Unbeknownst even to Teferi and those others who sacrificed much to heal the Dominarian time rifts, the Mending returned the lost polar continent of Kaldheim — exiled as a demi-plane by the first Thran in ancient times — to Dominaria. And with it, the original practitioners of native Dominarian snow magic, the Kaldarjar. (The Kaldarjar were the forerunners of later Kjeldons, Keldons, and others who managed to escape the Thran ritual and remain as remnant factions on Dominaria.)
- The Kaldarjar, biding their time in secret in the years since the Mending, strike out at a reborn, yet secretly corrupt Coalition. The Coalition has inadventently, through the machinations of Bolas and his puppets in the Balshan Bay Company, created a series of planar artifacts — Crucibles — to artificially ignite the sparks of mortals yet put them wholly under Bolas's control.
- Discovering Bolas's betrayal and learning the truth about the Kaldarjar, the Elfhames of Llanowar split from the Coalition and change sides in the midst of the war, making a Kaldarjar victory inevitable.
- Learning of the deeper nature of Dominarian snow magic — that under the returned presence of Kaldheim it has the power to seal off all mana lines and make planeswalking to or from Dominaria impossible once again, as it was before the Thran — The Academy at Tolaria West and the Ghitu of Shiv abandon the plane en masse, to locations unknown. With their allies turned enemies or fled, the Awene of Femeref make a final, hopeless stand to regain their honor in death, and are utterly destroyed, along with most of the smaller allied powers of the Coalition.
- The Kaldarjar and the Llanowar Elfhames unite to finally undo the Thran ritual and plunge Dominaria back into an eternal ice age, as it was in the beginning. All mana lines to and from Dominaria are severed, removing it from its place in the Nexus of the Multiverse and causing Multiverse-wide upheaval of interplanar travel. Old paths between worlds are lost, new paths to forgotten worlds created, and many planeswalkers become irrevocably lost in the chaos... while others return.
- Dominaria is finally whole, at peace, and utterly unreachable once again. A gentle snow falls on the pines and campfires of Llanowar.
- Meanwhile, none of this has affected the remote, disconnected plane of Kamigawa in the slightest. Exceedingly few planeswalkers know of Kamigawa's existence, and even fewer know how to ride the interplanar paths to and from the physically- and temporally-isolated plane. Even those who know almost never travel to or from the plane, as a single year spent elsewhere will see nearly a hundred years pass on Kamigawa. Those who leave, tend to leave for good. Those who stay, tend to stay for good.
- Both Kamigawa's mortal and spirit worlds have reached the end of their patience with the deprivations of the Oni. The Shogun, Rin Akayagi, issues a great Call to mortals and spirit alike: to venture forth into Jigoku, the realm of the Oni, pierce Hell's heart, and defeat the Oni forever. Pale-Eyes, the Myobu of Jukai, is the only figure in the Shogun's court to dissent from the mission. The Shogun allows the Myobu to follow his/her conscience, and Pale-Eyes begins a mendicant journey to far-flung regions of the plane for reasons only he/she fully understands.
- The armies of Kamigawa's mortal and spirit worlds descend into Jigoku and strike a great blow. However, in single combat against Kuro, Shogun Akayagi suffers a mortal wound, and while defeating the demon, herself dies in his lair and is buried there. Mourning their fallen leader, her court nevertheless carries out her greatest wish: that the doors to Jigoku be forever closed.
- Using magic from ancient scrolls not employed anywhere in the Multiverse for millennia, the wizards of Minamo expel the entire realm of Jigoku into the Blind Eternities.
- Though victory is seemingly won, strange murmurs begin to be spoken across the plane of Kamigawa. The ancient and immortal Uba, speaking their indecipherable language of song and riddles, cross paths with Pale-Eyes and reveal visions of Kamigawa's prehistory, and dire warnings about the plane's future. The secretive and seductive Ningyo likewise speak to Pale-Eyes about the great flow of mana through Kamigawa, and express their distress at the new break in the current caused by Jigoku's expulsion. The power of the Kami throughout the realm begins to seep away through ever-lengthening fissures caused by the cracking-away of Jigoku into the unknown beyond.
- Suddenly and shockingly, the tsunami of mana lines caused by Dominaria's departure from the Nexus reaches distant Kamigawa, and the spreading fissures become great rifts through which the Kami disappear entirely. And, as these mana lines carve their winding paths throughout the Multiverse, they settle on a new convergence — Kamigawa takes its place as the center of the new Nexus. Strangers from a thousand different realms suddenly descend on Kamigawa, woken from their isolation and empowered by new, prominent pathways of travel.
- Among other assorted strangeness: Baron Sengir and his vampire army overtake Eiganjo Castle, turning many of its Samurai defenders into vampires in the process, and the Baron re-styles himself Daimyo Sengir; Mercadia City is transported in its upside-down entirety into coastal waters, and its rulers begin a campaign of piracy and extortion against the mainland as well as a campaign of suppression against the unprepared but rebellious Ningyo; and the Vanished trolls of Tel-Jilad appear with their exotic (but thankfully, uncorrupted) Mirran technology, including their enormous slagwurms that begin to carve a destructive path across the plane.
So, with all that table-setting, I am now proposing that our story begin in frozen Sarpadia (intentionally left unvisited by me during Dominaria block), as some rogueish straggler of a planeswalker discovers one unlikely, last-ditch chance to escape from Dominaria, not by planeswalking, but by way of a direct flight through the Blind Eternities — on the wings of an Elder Dragon.To shift gears into the main story: My proposal for frenzy is (a somehow-altered version of) my recent mini-plane Kagaqeirrot and for avow I am still backing Shadowmoor. My original elevator pitch for Kagaqeirrot included a vague reference to the "ice-sickness", which was always a one-off reference to an infamous culture-bound disorder seen in the Arctic. I'm thinking some outside force (a failed Phyrexian incursion?) once tried to utilize this disease and now it's spreading to unseen proportions. Meanwhile, I'm picturing a Lorwyn-Shadowmoor in "balance" but still reeling from the effects of the Aurora, and the inhabitants who remained in their Shadomoor forms essentially with a coup underway to fully restore the night side, using geases to alter the people and the land.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I was actually thinking the same exact thing!
Specifically... Madara?
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
If we do it, we'll somehow have to reconcile that plane's snow themes with, A) the fact that L2 isn't doing snow mana (unless you want to propose that it does); and, B) the fact that my continuity asserts that snow magic is THE uniquely Dominarian magic, i.e. it's fundamental to what Dominaria is and it doesn't really exist anywhere else. And I'm not saying we have to use my continuity, but I'd rather ditch my continuity for L2 rather than change it in that way.
Of course, you know, it snows on other planes, too.
So if we can do Kagaqueirrot without doing snow magic, I'm all for it. Maybe we don't start off on Dominaria / Sarpadia after all. That was really just my way of spinning the idea of a cold and isolated "winter frenzy" plane. But hey, thinking about it, it's probably best if we don't dip right back into the Dominaria setting if we're using my stuff as backstory, as L2 presumably takes place right after those six sets (and before Raksu).
So again, Kagaqueirrot without snow magic = I'm all in. With snow magic, I can be in but we have to readjust some expectations / mechanics.
And another one-off design:
Squee, Unlikely Survivor 1R
Legendary Creature - Goblin (R)
First strike
If Squee, Unlikely Survivor would die, instead flip a coin. If you win the flip, exile Squee, then return him to the battlefield under your control. If you lose the flip, exile Squee.
2/1
A spin-off on Squee, Goblin Nabob that feels a little bit more red.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Sarkhan is a natural fit for a storyline that hinges around finding lost Elder Dragons. Such a good fit that it doesn't really matter where we first run into him. Tarkir just isn't necessary; Sarkhan brings all the necessary with him.
I am, of course, in love with the idea of Tuknir-as-planeswalker, so I'm going to hold onto that as a possibility. He also has a fairly Raksu-sounding name so I may even claim that as his home plane. If for some reason he doesn't work out in L2 I'm just going to grab him for Raksu. In any case, if not Tuknir, I think it would be cool to promote some existing character to PW status, so that's gonna be my proposal.
I'm thinking that we do one or two more planeswalkers, but make them brand new creations. I have no suggestions other than not to make all of our planeswalkers human dudes, but branch out and do a non-human, a female, and/or a non-human female. Oh, and also to make sure that we have fairly adequate color coverage between the walkers, though it doesn't have to be perfect.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Then what do you think of this? It could be a faerie.
This earlier entry was made with that theme in mind!
The presence of the distinctively Greek-named Hippodrome is a weird wrinkle, but again... we can fix it in the flavor text.
I think we basically substitute chariot racing as the Segovian cultural equivalent of bullfighting and call it square.
EDIT: Also, a hada planeswalker from Segovia sounds just fine, but I will caution that shrink in this set is a NONBLACK mechanic, and also a mechanic represented via -1/-1 counters, whereas applying -1/-1 counters to your opponents creatures is still a very black thing to do. So, if this is going to be a "shrinking" planeswalker, I think it probably needs to shrink your own stuff rather than your opponent's stuff.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I want to amend that statement by saying that, I DO suppose that PWs are somewhat above the rules of any given set, so if you wanted this Faerie PW to dole out -1/-1 counters to your opponent and/or be black, I guess that's a fair ball.
Also, there is black mana on Segovia, it's just not represented via the shrink mechanic. So if this was, for example, a blue/black Faerie PW, that would fit perfectly fine. I guess I just want people to be mindful of the color weights that have been assigned to the various mechanics. But if we have to bend the rules, I do think that a PW is the most legitimate place to do that.
EXCELLENT!
About the Faerie planeswalker: My idea was that she wanted to help the smaller creatures in a giant, hostile world. Because she's from the nonblack world, she values community and helping the weak (or, in this case, small). She doesn't have to be blue-black - I thought more of a Bant-colored card. But that's just my suggestion.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Bant could work, although I like the idea of a little bit of mischief and selfishness. Let's pencil in some of the details, but save the ink for later. We've still got a lot to pencil in! I think for right now, "Faerie PW from Segovia" is a nifty concept that we can work with. Colors / personality / motives / powers can be an ongoing discussion.
Did we rule out Raksu? I thought it was still in the running for oldschoolupkeeplandia.
Strike against: antarcticfrenzyworld is already a fairly desolate locale, do we need two, even if their temperature differences are extreme?
Strike for: I still like the idea of a lead-in to Raksu, and I'm full of ideas. Old school upkeep doesn't NOT fit. I could find an angle.
Strike against: I could probably find a better lead-in for Raksu than old school upkeep (maybe not in L2, or maybe as a Raksu-ian legend in L2... or maybe I could use Tuknir!)
OK, if Tuknir is in the set as a PW, I can let go of the idea of doing Raksu as oldschoolupkeeplandia. I talked myself out of it.
Heck, I can let go of it even if Tuknir isn't in the set.
I'll start brainstorming replacement ideas for the old school upkeep setting.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Nonblack Segovia feels really good and Segovia and shrink go hand in hand, and a mechanic that lets you make weenies seems quite good for something that includes white... Flavorfully it's very justified and mechanically it avoids the obviousness trap.
Meanwhile, you can't have upkeep without black. It's just not done. Lord of the Pit would cry.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Additionally, I want to say that shrink is being put forward as a benign and/or advantageous mechanic, so black shrink doesn't actually make a ton of sense. (Even if we had black shrink, I think we'd still want to keep the rule of -1/-1 counter on your own creatures only.) If ever there were a -1/-1 counter mechanic that didn't need black, I think this is the one.
Oh, and I like scrad's medieval siege world idea for Walls too.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Maybe the idea here is that everything is essentially a tall tale, a fanciful exaggeration, and the upkeep cost represents the commitment to telling a whopper of a good story.
Well, so... here's where I diverge on that.
It doesn't inspire me to a lot of different or varied designs. I'm thinking "Castle Wall", "Bigger Castle Wall", etc. I don't feel like there's 10-20 cards there.
What I'm wanting to do is to get WEIRD. Basically, to push the idea of "Wall" as far as it can go. I want to do strange, conceptual things like Legends did. So, I'm imagining this world as an endless labyrinth of diverse and unexpected puzzles, dangers to surmount, obstacles to overcome. Let's be honest, I think you've got to pull out all the stops to make the idea of Wall tribal work. I don't think you can restrict it to one milieu, such as a medieval castle siege world.
I'm not saying we should do the Temur. I'm saying that maybe they will be a good source of inspiration for this world. Maybe here we have a lush jungle plane, instead of a frozen tundra, to not overlap with the frenzy world, and maybe the shamans of this world are adept at twisting the time. Maybe there is some force that is corrupting the timelines and the shamans that use them, and forces them to do his bidding? I'm just throwing ideas, but I think that something that's based on the Temur could be a good starting point to a fresh-feeling nonwhite faction.