Daxas, is basically Wild West meets Gold Rush. Everybody's trying to make a living out on the Frontier, some prospecting for gold, others raising cattle and crops, and a notorious few who rob banks, trains, and honest folk. Isolated cells of lawmages have set up shop in settlements across the Frontier, some honest defenders of the common good, others underhanded opportunists who cut deals with crooks behind closed doors. City slickers from faraway civilizations are moving in to industrialize the Frontier and to capitalize on the people and their bounty. Meanwhile tribes of Aven, Centaurs, Minotaurs, and Naga defend their native homes, sometimes as allies of the settlers, other times as enemies. And in the midst of it all, Coyote folk have fun stealing, gambling, and blowing things up.
Major Tribes WUBRG Humans RW Dwarves WUB Birds BR Minotaurs GW Centaurs BG Nagas R Coyotefolk
Pair Up - Multiple creature cards in Daxas have Pair Up, which means "2: Pair this creature with another target unpaired creature you control for as long as you control both creatures. Pair up only as a sorcery." Much like in AVR, paired creatures provide mutual benefits for both creatures involved. Pairing in Daxas falls chiefly into RGW, with a little blue and black.
Frontier RangerRW
Creature - Human Soldier
Pair up (2: Pair ~ with another target unpaired creature you control for as long as you control both creatures. Pair up only as a sorcery.)
As long as ~ is paired up with another creature, both creatures have vigilance.
2/2
Quick Draw - Quick Draw is the main spellslinger mechanic of the set, appearing chiefly on instants and sorceries. Like Surge, it's an alternate casting cost you can pay if a specific condition is met, in this case if two or more cards were drawn that turn. That includes the first card you draw on each of your turns and cards your opponent has drawn that turn. Quick Draw is chiefly UR, with white and black being secondary colors. Given the focus on quickly drawing cards, a lot of cheap cantrips and "draw two" instants are included as support.
Boltshot2R
Instant
~ deals 3 damage to any target.
Quick Draw R(You may cast this spell for its quick draw cost if two or more cards were drawn this turn.)
Gold tokens - Multiple cards in Daxas produce Gold tokens. Gold tokens are mostly found in UBR.
Pan for GoldU
Instant
Draw a card, then create a colorless Gold artifact token with "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color."
Food tokens - Food tokens are sacrificed to gain life. They depict a variety of different foods; fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, and even bread. Food tokens appear chiefly in GW. They can also be produced by artifacts and land (imagine an old-fashioned oven, or a literal farm land), so every color can access some Food. Food matters cards can either increase the amount of life gained, or let you trade them for other useful resources such as Gold or +1/+1 counters.
Fruit Orchard
Land
~ enters tapped.
When ~ enters, create a colorless Food artifact token with "Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 2 life." T: Add G.
Vehicles - Vehicles return, this time chiefly in the form of trains, though I could see the odd watercraft, wagon, or stagecoach.
Supply Train5
Artifact - Vehicle
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw a card, you gain 3 life, then create a colorless Gold artifact token with "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color".
Crew 3
5/5
DFCs & Meld
Much like Ixalan, Daxas has a couple cycles of DFCs to showcase settling the frontier. One of these cycles consists of land that initially produce a single color of mana, then can later be transformed into useful utility lands. A handful of cards are meld pairs,
Sprawling Field
Land
~ enters tapped. T: Add W. 2W, Tap three untapped creatures you control: Transform ~.
// Sprawling Pasture
Land T: Add C. 1W, T, Tap an untapped creature you control: Create a 2/2 white Ox creature token.
Chandra, the Fireslinger1RR
Legendary Planeswalker - Chandra
+1: ~ deals 2 damage divided as you choose among any number of targets.
0: Discard up to two cards, then draw that many cards.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you both own and control Chandra, the Fireslinger and Gideon, Iron Lawman, exile them, then meld them into Chandra and Gideon, Frontier Heroes. Their starting loyalty is equal to the total number of loyalty counters on both planeswalkers.
3
Gideon, Iron Lawman2WW
Legendary Planeswalker - Gideon
+1: Tap up to two target creatures and/or planeswalkers. Prevent all damage those permanents would deal this turn.
0: Until end of turn, ~ becomes a 4/4 Human Soldier with indestructible and "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to this planeswalker". He's still a planeswalker. (Melds with Chandra, the Fireslinger.)
4
Chandra and Gideon, Frontier Heroes (R/W) Legendary Planeswalker - Chandra Gideon
+2: Until end of turn, whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, copy that spell for each permanent you control that's a creature or planeswalker.
-4: ~ deals 5 damage to target opponent or planeswalker. Tap all creatures controlled by that player or that planeswalker's controller.
0: Until end of turn, ~ becomes a 5/5 Human Shaman Soldier with double strike, menace, indestructible, haste, and "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to this planeswalker." They're still a planeswalker.
*
Draft Themes WU Tapped creatures matter UB Artifacts BR Rogue Tribal RG Land matters GW Creature tokens WB Life tax UR Quick Draw BG Death matters RW Pair Up GU Card draw
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
It's supposed to be Daxas. Daxos is Elspeth's ill-fated paramour from Theros. I'll update the topic title. Though, I wonder if calling it something like Daxon would help reduce confusion? "Daxas" is derived from a mixture of "Dallas" and "Texas", though since other western states, like California, have played a major role in the formation of the Western Frontier culture, I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't try a different name.
For the rare dual cycle, what if Daxas featured enemy-color counterparts to SOI's Port Town cycle? The set would want some faster duals to fit the "Western action" feel.
Having done some set design, I have to say I'm becoming more and more fond of Dwarves as a RW tribe and archetype in Daxas. The red ones pay homage to Yosemite Sam's comedic antics when they aren't playing up the prospector archetype and the white Dwarves are basically shortstack sheriffs and engineers. Minotaurs are probably going to be BR again, so Coyotefolk sadly might be getting phased out altogether. I suppose they could work as a RG tribe much like Amonkhet's Jackalfolk, but the RG archetype in Daxas is supposed to be about land. I do want at least one Coyote in the set, though.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I like how Amonkhet went a ram direction for Minotaurs that made it feel unique to the plane. What about in addition to BR bovine Minotaurs you also include WR bison Minotaurs. There a several we minotaurs already so it wouldn’t be a stretch.
Also I t’d be cool if instead of gunslingers there could be spellslingers and I thought there was a creature type already made for it but I guess it’s spellshapers.
UBR seems a good fit for anything tricky so that would be my vote for coyotes.
Would trains make an appearance as vehicles?
Also got to have a thunderbird in the set somewhere; maybe as a Phoenix
Maybe have the reminder text for pair up say "Pair up only as a sorcery, and only if CARDNAME is not paired."
Maybe call it Dahas? Close to (but not the same as) the Spanish pronunciation.
Regarding bison minotaurs, Ptesanwin has a deathtouch-like ability. (For those unfamiliar, she was first seen by two hunters. One kept a respectful distance, but the other ran towards her with the intent to violate her. She responded by having a cloud descend on him, and when the cloud left, there was nothing but bone. She then told the other man "I am coming to your camp tomorrow, to teach you a good way of living.")
Wakinyan could fit into numerous creature types: Elemental, Phoenix, Horror, even Angel. You could even have four of them. Their ability would have to be some sort of removal. (They basically kill anything that's dirty or engaged in some terrible taboo.)
A cycle could be astronomical events: High Noon, Sundown, Solar Eclipse, that sort of thing.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Just popping in for a little encouragement. I like what I see. The tribal distribution is very appealing and interesting with one exception imo - Coyotefolk could just be hounds (as seen in Naya colors of Khans block) flavored as coyote.
I'm curious, how many meld couples do you plan for - one at each rarity?
Considering we have Foxes, Wolves, and Jackals, I feel Coyote deserves its own type, too, especially since they have more in common visually with wolves than dogs. But I've already determined that Coyotefolk aren't all that necessary with BR Minotaurs and RW Dwarves already providing red with two distinct tribes. I would want at least one Coyote card in the set, though. I'm also second-guessing Aven and rattlesnake Naga. Cool ideas on paper, but I question if they're really meeting the needs of the set as a whole. Note that just because a set features distinct races does not mean those races will necessarily get a tribal theme, as WU Birds and RG Jackals of Amonkhet can attest. But the designers like to choose one or two distinct races for each color when worldbuilding, often putting a particular race into two colors when it makes sense, to provide material for tribal deck builds down the line.
As for Meld, that would largely come down to whether or not I decide to do Meld. Meld as a word has a particular flavor that I'm not sure fits a Western set all that well. I could see maybe a pair of PWs that Meld, but that would be it. Now Partner With has some potential. I could see another pair of Partner With planeswalkers, though then I would want the set to be supplemental so it could reference Commander. But even a cycle of Partner With legends would be neat.
The major mechanics for Daxas right now are Pair Up (the new name for my old Partner mechanic after Commander introduced a different mechanic named Partner), Quick Draw/Reload, and Developments.
GW Pair Up (2: Pair this creature with another target unpaired creature you control. Pair up only as a sorcery.)
Two creatures partner up. Simple as that. Focused in GW this time around, with other colors also getting a few.
UR Quick Draw -cost- (You may cast this spell for its quick draw cost if you've drawn two or more cards this turn.)
OR UR Reload (Then you may discard a card. If you do, return this spell to its owner's hand.)
The spellslinger mechanic. Intuition says this should be UR, but RWB get the largest number of combat-relevant spells. Quick Draw definitely leans blue, though. I feel that Quick Draw will be easier to balance than Reload, so the set will probably use Quick Draw.
WU Developments (Artifacts, enchantments, and nonbasic lands are developments.)
Developments are a batch mechanic akin to Historic, themed on how the wild frontier was settled and developed over time with towns, technology, and laws. Developments lean WU, but I could see black getting some Developments matter cards as well if necessary.
I'm of course keeping Gold tokens a major subtheme of UBR. The gold rush is a major event of the Old West, it would feel wrong to have a Western set without a noticeable Gold presence.
For other mechanics considerations, I've considered a Getaway mechanic that involves bouncing your own creatures, tied to the outlaws. Dash could also work as the outlaw mechanic, considering the majority of outlaws are BR (and Outlaw tribal would trump Minotaur tribal in priority here) and black could really use a set mechanic. I would be interested in making use of my Capture mechanic, as that's something that can fit into WUB easily and could be used by both lawkeepers and outlaws. If not, there's always exile matters.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
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Major Tribes
WUBRG Humans
RW Dwarves
WUB Birds
BR Minotaurs
GW Centaurs
BG Nagas
R Coyotefolk
Pair Up - Multiple creature cards in Daxas have Pair Up, which means "2: Pair this creature with another target unpaired creature you control for as long as you control both creatures. Pair up only as a sorcery." Much like in AVR, paired creatures provide mutual benefits for both creatures involved. Pairing in Daxas falls chiefly into RGW, with a little blue and black.
Frontier Ranger RW
Creature - Human Soldier
Pair up (2: Pair ~ with another target unpaired creature you control for as long as you control both creatures. Pair up only as a sorcery.)
As long as ~ is paired up with another creature, both creatures have vigilance.
2/2
Quick Draw - Quick Draw is the main spellslinger mechanic of the set, appearing chiefly on instants and sorceries. Like Surge, it's an alternate casting cost you can pay if a specific condition is met, in this case if two or more cards were drawn that turn. That includes the first card you draw on each of your turns and cards your opponent has drawn that turn. Quick Draw is chiefly UR, with white and black being secondary colors. Given the focus on quickly drawing cards, a lot of cheap cantrips and "draw two" instants are included as support.
Boltshot 2R
Instant
~ deals 3 damage to any target.
Quick Draw R (You may cast this spell for its quick draw cost if two or more cards were drawn this turn.)
Gold tokens - Multiple cards in Daxas produce Gold tokens. Gold tokens are mostly found in UBR.
Pan for Gold U
Instant
Draw a card, then create a colorless Gold artifact token with "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color."
Food tokens - Food tokens are sacrificed to gain life. They depict a variety of different foods; fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, and even bread. Food tokens appear chiefly in GW. They can also be produced by artifacts and land (imagine an old-fashioned oven, or a literal farm land), so every color can access some Food. Food matters cards can either increase the amount of life gained, or let you trade them for other useful resources such as Gold or +1/+1 counters.
Fruit Orchard
Land
~ enters tapped.
When ~ enters, create a colorless Food artifact token with "Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 2 life."
T: Add G.
Vehicles - Vehicles return, this time chiefly in the form of trains, though I could see the odd watercraft, wagon, or stagecoach.
Supply Train 5
Artifact - Vehicle
When ~ enters the battlefield, draw a card, you gain 3 life, then create a colorless Gold artifact token with "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color".
Crew 3
5/5
DFCs & Meld
Much like Ixalan, Daxas has a couple cycles of DFCs to showcase settling the frontier. One of these cycles consists of land that initially produce a single color of mana, then can later be transformed into useful utility lands. A handful of cards are meld pairs,
Sprawling Field
Land
~ enters tapped.
T: Add W.
2W, Tap three untapped creatures you control: Transform ~.
//
Sprawling Pasture
Land
T: Add C.
1W, T, Tap an untapped creature you control: Create a 2/2 white Ox creature token.
Chandra, the Fireslinger 1RR
Legendary Planeswalker - Chandra
+1: ~ deals 2 damage divided as you choose among any number of targets.
0: Discard up to two cards, then draw that many cards.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you both own and control Chandra, the Fireslinger and Gideon, Iron Lawman, exile them, then meld them into Chandra and Gideon, Frontier Heroes. Their starting loyalty is equal to the total number of loyalty counters on both planeswalkers.
3
Gideon, Iron Lawman 2WW
Legendary Planeswalker - Gideon
+1: Tap up to two target creatures and/or planeswalkers. Prevent all damage those permanents would deal this turn.
0: Until end of turn, ~ becomes a 4/4 Human Soldier with indestructible and "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to this planeswalker". He's still a planeswalker.
(Melds with Chandra, the Fireslinger.)
4
Chandra and Gideon, Frontier Heroes
(R/W) Legendary Planeswalker - Chandra Gideon
+2: Until end of turn, whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, copy that spell for each permanent you control that's a creature or planeswalker.
-4: ~ deals 5 damage to target opponent or planeswalker. Tap all creatures controlled by that player or that planeswalker's controller.
0: Until end of turn, ~ becomes a 5/5 Human Shaman Soldier with double strike, menace, indestructible, haste, and "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to this planeswalker." They're still a planeswalker.
*
Draft Themes
WU Tapped creatures matter
UB Artifacts
BR Rogue Tribal
RG Land matters
GW Creature tokens
WB Life tax
UR Quick Draw
BG Death matters
RW Pair Up
GU Card draw
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
For the rare dual cycle, what if Daxas featured enemy-color counterparts to SOI's Port Town cycle? The set would want some faster duals to fit the "Western action" feel.
Having done some set design, I have to say I'm becoming more and more fond of Dwarves as a RW tribe and archetype in Daxas. The red ones pay homage to Yosemite Sam's comedic antics when they aren't playing up the prospector archetype and the white Dwarves are basically shortstack sheriffs and engineers. Minotaurs are probably going to be BR again, so Coyotefolk sadly might be getting phased out altogether. I suppose they could work as a RG tribe much like Amonkhet's Jackalfolk, but the RG archetype in Daxas is supposed to be about land. I do want at least one Coyote in the set, though.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Also I t’d be cool if instead of gunslingers there could be spellslingers and I thought there was a creature type already made for it but I guess it’s spellshapers.
UBR seems a good fit for anything tricky so that would be my vote for coyotes.
Would trains make an appearance as vehicles?
Also got to have a thunderbird in the set somewhere; maybe as a Phoenix
Maybe call it Dahas? Close to (but not the same as) the Spanish pronunciation.
Regarding bison minotaurs, Ptesanwin has a deathtouch-like ability. (For those unfamiliar, she was first seen by two hunters. One kept a respectful distance, but the other ran towards her with the intent to violate her. She responded by having a cloud descend on him, and when the cloud left, there was nothing but bone. She then told the other man "I am coming to your camp tomorrow, to teach you a good way of living.")
Wakinyan could fit into numerous creature types: Elemental, Phoenix, Horror, even Angel. You could even have four of them. Their ability would have to be some sort of removal. (They basically kill anything that's dirty or engaged in some terrible taboo.)
A cycle could be astronomical events: High Noon, Sundown, Solar Eclipse, that sort of thing.
On phasing:
I'm curious, how many meld couples do you plan for - one at each rarity?
As for Meld, that would largely come down to whether or not I decide to do Meld. Meld as a word has a particular flavor that I'm not sure fits a Western set all that well. I could see maybe a pair of PWs that Meld, but that would be it. Now Partner With has some potential. I could see another pair of Partner With planeswalkers, though then I would want the set to be supplemental so it could reference Commander. But even a cycle of Partner With legends would be neat.
The major mechanics for Daxas right now are Pair Up (the new name for my old Partner mechanic after Commander introduced a different mechanic named Partner), Quick Draw/Reload, and Developments.
GW Pair Up (2: Pair this creature with another target unpaired creature you control. Pair up only as a sorcery.)
Two creatures partner up. Simple as that. Focused in GW this time around, with other colors also getting a few.
UR Quick Draw -cost- (You may cast this spell for its quick draw cost if you've drawn two or more cards this turn.)
OR
UR Reload (Then you may discard a card. If you do, return this spell to its owner's hand.)
The spellslinger mechanic. Intuition says this should be UR, but RWB get the largest number of combat-relevant spells. Quick Draw definitely leans blue, though. I feel that Quick Draw will be easier to balance than Reload, so the set will probably use Quick Draw.
WU Developments (Artifacts, enchantments, and nonbasic lands are developments.)
Developments are a batch mechanic akin to Historic, themed on how the wild frontier was settled and developed over time with towns, technology, and laws. Developments lean WU, but I could see black getting some Developments matter cards as well if necessary.
I'm of course keeping Gold tokens a major subtheme of UBR. The gold rush is a major event of the Old West, it would feel wrong to have a Western set without a noticeable Gold presence.
For other mechanics considerations, I've considered a Getaway mechanic that involves bouncing your own creatures, tied to the outlaws. Dash could also work as the outlaw mechanic, considering the majority of outlaws are BR (and Outlaw tribal would trump Minotaur tribal in priority here) and black could really use a set mechanic. I would be interested in making use of my Capture mechanic, as that's something that can fit into WUB easily and could be used by both lawkeepers and outlaws. If not, there's always exile matters.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.