MTG Salvation

Design Goals
1) I want to create a fun and novel limited environment, and I want that limited environment to be unique and memorable. Ultimately, I want the limited experience to be (i) immersive and supported by the lore and world and (ii) one that gives players agency and meaningful decisions to make, both during the draft portion and during the games themselves.
2) Philosophy, art, and culture all can deepen and enhance Magic set and card design. Indeed, all are necessary. I am hoping to explore in a robust way the themes of (i) permanence and fleetingness and (ii) the freedom of love and the human pulls toward and away from love. Not only does a setting of a dreamworld with a potential musical subtheme aid in the exploration of these themes, but so does Ashiok's own story.

Mechanics
These mechanics are still under development. However, I'm laying out ones that, at the moment, are at least possible to make it into the set. Vanishing and Vivid will be the flagship mechanics of the set.

1. WUBRG Vanishing N (This permanent enters the battlefield with N time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)

2. WUBRG Vivify [COST] (If a nonland permanent you control would untap, you may reveal this card instead. If you do, transform it).

3. WUBRG Impress – When ~ enters the graveyard or at the beginning of your next upkeep after it enters the graveyard, you may pay [COST]. If you do, [EFFECT].

4. GWU Replenish N (Choose a type of nominal counter. You may put N counters of that type on a permanent you control. If you don't, put a +1/+1 counter on it.)

5. UBR Nightmare (when this enters your graveyard, flip it) // Nightmare [COST] (You may cast this spell from the graveyard for its Nightmare cost)

Color Pie Philosophy: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AsiQWgrr7nacueI8heNeQ00LBgppmA
Mechanics Brainstorm: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AsiQWgrr7nacubdxm7ZuLWDGAszkeg

Sentient Creatures
Loxodon GW: Loxodon are the most populous sentient creatures that inhabit Rhymnir. These are mythical creatures for the people of Aenyr, creatures described only in tales and song, figments of the imagination of many an Aenyr child. How Loxodon found their way into Aenyr tales is unknown. In Rhymnir, Loxodon live close to the land. They are farmers, carpenters, natural healers. They tend to be stubborn and conservative, seeking cultural, religious, and economic stability and resisting change.

Siren UBR: Siren are elusive creatures that inhabit Rhymnir's less-trod places. One may find them along coasts and amongst the crags of the tallest mountains. Always gravitating toward the minor keys, the music they produce is more eerie and melodic than the music found on Ashiok's home plane of Aenyr. Some adventurers are drawn to their music, finding in its melancholy an appealing loneliness and solitude. Others mistrust them.

Satyr RG: The Satyr on Rhymnir should resonate with the cultural depiction from ancient Greece and Rome, but they will be slightly different here. Their hedonism will be muted, but their association with bounty and growth and excess will be manifest. I decided to use Satyrs on Rhymnir because they are a musical race and because they represent a lot of what Red and Green are doing on Rhymnir. Satyr on Rhymnir constitute the necessary machinery of Ashiok's imagination, machinery which helps enable vivid and creative imaginings and mental creations.

Wendigo UB: Wendigo are among the most feared native creatures on Rhymnir. Their combat prowess is feared; their ability to survive Rhymnir's coldest harshest living environments the subject of much consternation and angst among the Loxodon. Little do the Loxodon know - Wendigo are the corporeal manifestation of guilt-inducing actions Ashiok has made in her life. As such, they feel no remorse, no pity, no love.

Sandborn R: The Sandborn are mountain nomads that are sustained by the imagination-laden earth of Rhymnir. Their lean bodies take on the texture and appearance of whatever ground they are on, indeed their bodies emerge from the ground itself. They are most happy and at their most powerful when dwelling in dry, sandy, mountainous terrain, for there their connection to the core of the earth is most direct. Plato, Plotinus, and various Christian theologians like Anselm all analogize created being as an excess and result of God's activity. In the Proslogion and Monoslogion, Anselm analogizes created being as the deposits left by the flowing of a river. This is sort of how I envision the Sandborn - they are created by the teeming activity of Ashiok's mind and heart. Known throughout Rhymnir as lightning-fast creatures and skilled combatants, they draw their energy and prowess from the vividness of Ashiok's mental imagination. More so than the other races on Rhymnir, the Sandborn seek not to destroy or preserve, but instead deal with the chaos of change and imagination. The shamans of the Sandborn have even learned to harness it.

Humans W: Humans are not populous on Rhymnir. Ever since the beginning of song and written history, humans have dwelt amicably among the Loxodon. More so than the Loxodon, they gravitate to urban dwelling, often fulfilling roles in civil service and government. As on Aenyr, humans on Rhymnir are adept at music (of the Classical variety, contrastic with the Romanticism of the Siren's music).

Nymphs RGU: Nymnphs are female water spirits that are sometimes seen around the more secluded and peaceful lakes and rivers. All of the Greco-Roman connotations will be maintained - these exist on Rhymnir as a consequence of Ashiok's inner sexual desires and her desire for freedom.

Non-sentient Creatures

Will-O'-Wisp GWUB: Will-O'-Wisps are a common sight in the wilds of Rhymnir. Some are delightful to the eye, and others induce fear. Only a select few wisps appear in broad daylight - more wisps will be found where they are covered by a canopy of trees or at nighttime gliding along the roads. They are elusive, alluring, and seemingly flicker in and out of existence.

Nightmares UBR: Once the stuff of myth and legend on Rhymnir, they have become more and more common the more and more time Ashiok spends on Rhymnir. The Loxodon have noticed this correlation and have grown concerned. Nightmares defy the basic rules of existence, fading in and out of being and time. They appear in dreams and sometimes can be seen gliding across the landscape. Their goal is the unravelling and disintegration of worldly being. With Nightmares, I will have to make a design choice. If Rhymnir is the first of a 2-set block, then I will want to weight their appearance in favor of the 2nd set. If Rhymnir will be a 1-set block, then Nightmares will be the most common creature type across the Grixis colors in Rhymnir.

Unicorns WGR: Unicorns are beloved by the races that inhabit the capital city Alabastra. Their gait, the soft sound they make as they gallop, the music they emit with their horns, their powerful charge...all give them a majesty and pride of place in Alabastran culture. It is illegal to hunt unicorns, and it is a capital offense to cut their horns off. Unicorns are symbols of luck and of an abundance of promise and freedom. Some species of unicorn are known for their elusiveness, while others are as common on Rhymnir as horses are on earth.

Kelpie UB: Kelpie are mythical horses that dwell in rivers and the ocean. They are wild and vicious. Akhtaman, the high shaman of the Sandborn, believes that the metaphysical first principle of the universe is Janus-faced, the side valuing life creating unicorns and the side valuing dissolution and death creating Kelpie. Horses are indeed an iconic creature type on Rhymnir, spanning across all 5 colors.

Kitsu WBR: Kitsu are a breed of fox commonly found on Rhymnir. This creature race is derived from the Japanese Kitsune - foxes with up to 9 tails, sometimes benevolent, sometimes mischievous, sometimes malevolent, that can induce dreams. In Japanese folklore they can shapeshift after 100 years, but on Rhymnir they won't. On Rhymnir, Kitsu can be found in the wild, and some have been tameable by the dwellers of Alabastra. Their presence in a home is said to bring good dreams and peaceful sleep. Wild Kitsu enjoy sneaking around tradesmen's camps and inducing dreams - the type of emotion the dream induces is based upon the will and disposition of the individual Kitsu.

Shades B: Shades are creatures of the void, emerging out of nothingness. The religions of Rhymnir's various peoples have always believed in spontaneous generation and creation in part because of Shades' connection to emptiness and nothingness. Ashiok was told by one of Alabastra's religious leaders that Shades, unlike the recent emergence of nightmares, have always been present on Rhymnir. It is reported that the Wendigoes worship shades, and one or two hunters have reported that the Wendigoes worship a sentient Shade. Shades are ethereal creatures that have physical power and can interact with physical objects on Rhymnir. Although not aggressive, it is generally advised to keep one's distance. Unlike previous incarnations of shades in Magic's history, shades will not be tied to black pump abilities.

Phelddagrif GWU: Phelddagrifs are mythical beasts that can sometimes be seen flying across the natural wilderness of Rhymnir's forests and mountains. They represent youthful hope and the endless possibilities of imagination.

Birds: Birds will be used to give Rhymnir a light, dreamy, aerie vibe. Phoenixes or Alerion (R) will be representations of teeming imagination. Nightingales (GUB or UB) will further the musical subtheme. Peacocks G, Hippogryffs UW, and Pegasus W may also make an appearance.

Hellions R: Hellions are known to lurk the mountainsides. Sometimes they appear forged not only by fire but by rock as well, perhaps indicating that anger and vengeful wrath are as deep a part of human nature as are more benevolent qualities. They are the primary reason why the hunters of Rhymnir shy away from hunting mountain goats. If I decide to make this a 2-set block, Hellions will likely be moved to the second set.

White: Flickerwisp
Blue: Dream Thrush, Spreading Seas, Reality Acid
Black: Thoughtseize, Duress
Red: Tormenting Voice
Green: Pulse of Llanowar (functional only)
Multi: Mystic Snake, Phelddagrif
Artifacts:
Other: Filter Lands

1st Set: Rhymnir 2nd Set: A World into Abeyance