I've been working on this set for a few days, and I've managed to go further with this idea than I expected to. Like Odyssey block's Torment (the "Black" set), Kazritha is intended to be a set with the color distributions of all cards across rarities shifted towards Red.
Flavor
Kazritha is a gambling city on the plane of Anla Ukra, with elements of Arabian and Mesopotamian mythology. The growing Sipari empire (taken from the Turkish word for "order") has long since claimed Kazritha, though until now, no one in the city much cared. As long as the Efreet casinos - known for their coveted jackpots of one unfettered wish - remain open, the human degenerates only care to empty their pockets. However, the empire has recently acquired a new weapon - the planeswalker Luca, a former Azorius hussar who became disillusioned with the guild when he discovered Jace's extraplanar origins. Designated the Exarch of a number of previously unregulated provinces, Luca sent a young soldier named Axal to the city as its new constable.
At around the same time, the Innistradi planeswalker Tibalt came to Anla Ukra in search of greater power to regain some autonomy on his home plane by dispatching its protector, Sorin. He soon found himself drawn to Kazritha, and upon reaching the city, quickly became just as degenerate as the rest of its human population. The fortune of a wish granted by a powerful Efreet was exactly what he needed to fight his nemesis. However, as he continued to gamble, Tibalt found that his luck never seemed to run out; on the contrary, he hasn't lost a game in quite some time. The fiend-blooded planeswalker revels in his winning streak, but he can't help but wonder if there isn't more to his good fortune than it appears.
Unsatisfied with Axal's inability to quell the rowdy Efreet, who run Kazritha, and the human demagogues who believe in a functional anarchy, Luca himself has recently arrived in the city, bringing with him a large contingent of Sipari soldiers. The Exarch refuses to gamble, but seems to constantly find himself in exceedingly bizarre, near-death situations, only to be rescued by a passing Efreet. It seems as though fortune holds some sort of grudge against Luca. To make matters worse, soldiers have been overhearing murmurs of an ancient Kazrithan myth regarding the city's supposed founder, known only as the Kazri. Morale is at an all-time low, with the superstitious troops growing more and more restless and fearful of the Kazri's return. Only fueling the paranoia is the recent discovery of a forgotten network of catacombs beneath the Casino District, which stretches all the way to the coastline.
Mechanics
Hybrid (Until later in the block, exclusive to :symwu:)
Unearth (Exclusive to Jund colors; supports a BG graveyard theme) Chaos (An ability word that grants some ability or stronger effect if you've won a coin flip this turn)
The coin flip symbol, represented by the Planechase "chaos" symbol (Used when coin flipping is part of a cost)
In White and Blue, and especially in hybrid, flickering is prevalent with the new wording "Exile target creature until end of turn," based on new cards like Banisher Priest that use similar wording.
I've been looking for a new mechanic to tie everything together. I'd like to have one that appears in all five colors.
Mechanical Implications of Red Shift
Whereas Rosewater points to limited as a hinderance to color shifting, we now have a tool that didn't exist during Torment design: hybrid. Like Torment, cards are shaved off of Red's enemy colors, White and Blue. To compensate for the lack of slots for limited staples in the two colors, Kazritha uses hybrids to bolster the viability of White and Blue in draft. Note that though Red is more common than usual, White and Blue are by no means weaker than they usually are; in fact, since flavor-wise, the two colors represent external imposition on the city, the existing White and Blue cards are, on average, more powerful than in other sets.
Since Red still has significantly more commons and uncommons than any other color, the breakdown of supported draft strategies is as follows:
- R/W: Tokens
- B/R: Sacrifice
- R/G: Phoenixes
- U/R: Coin flipping
- W/U: "Enters the battlefield"
- Mono R: Chaos
- B/G: Graveyard
Note that White and Blue only appear together or with Red. All three Jund colors follow at least a minor graveyard theme, which shows up in Red with phoenixes, looting, and Flame Burst-type Sorceries. White and Blue have no such synergies.
Design Skeleton (in progress)
Common (101):
White (11): 1 bear with upside
1
Blue (11): 1 bounce spell
1 serpent
1 new mechanic (coin flipping)
1 off color white activation
1 card draw spell
1 small blocker
1 coin flip influencer
Black (19): 1 premium removal
1 conditional removal
1 white hoser (spell)
1 lifelinker
1 off color red activation (creature)
1 off color red activation (removal spell)
Red (34): 1 shock/bolt (Fortune Bolt)
1 looter
1 threaten
1 3/2 for 2
1
Green (19): 1 naturalize
1 giant growth
1 spider
1
U/W Hybrid (3): 1 soft counter
1 small flyer
1 removal enchantment
Artifact/Land (7): 1 tainted swamp
1 tainted forest
1 coin flip enabler (vertical cycle)
3 equipment
1 mana fixer
Uncommon (60):
White (5): 1 removal enchantment
1 tapper
1 aggressive weenie
1 redirection spell
1 “creatures matter” (Crusader of Odric)
Blue (5): 1 bounce spell
1
1
Black (11): 1 build-around-me
1 premium removal
1 value removal
1 big lifelinker
1 card draw spell
1 white hoser (creature)
1 creature that’s hard to kill
1 pinpointed discard
Red (20): 1 build-around-me
Green (11): 1 build-around-me
1 giant dude
1 blue hoser (creature)
1 stomphowler
1 token generator (creature)
U/W Hybrid (3): 1 build-around-me
1 big flyer
Artifact/Land (5): 1 tainted island
1 tainted plains
1 coin flip enabler (vertical cycle)
1 lamp
1 BRG tri-land
Rare (53):
White (5): 2 efficient weenies
1 big flyer
1 hate enchantment
1 blink effect
Blue (5): 1 big flyer
1 clone
1 control magic
1 coinflip influencer
1 card draw spell
Black (10): 1 premium removal spell
1 wrath
1 Bridge from Below
Red (15): 1 premium removal spell
Green (10): 1 mana elf
1
U/W Hybrid (2): 1 build-around-me
1 red hoser (creature)
Multicolored (3): 1 Absorb
1 BR removal spell
1 GR monster
Artifact/Land (5): 1 coin flip enabler (vertical cycle)
1 manland (Crowded Casino)
1 red land (Kazritha)
1 equipment
1 U/W dual land
Mythic (15)
White (0):
Blue (0):
Black (3): 1 graveyard dude
1 giant legendary demon
1
Red (4): 1 Tibalt
Green (3):
U/W Hybrid (2): 1 Stasis effect
1 Dovescape creature
Multicolored (2): 1 UW Planeswalker
1 BRG monster
Artifact/Land (1):
A Few Sample Cards (will be updated later)
Constable's Snare2
Enchantment (U)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a charge counter on Constable's Snare.
Remove two charge counters from Constable's Snare: Tap target permanent. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
Outstanding Reprimand1
Instant (C)
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 2.
Break Even3R
Sorcery (C)
Draw four cards, then discard four cards.
Fortune BoltR
Instant (C) Chaos - Fortune Bolt deals 2 damage to target creature or player. If you won a coin flip this turn, it deals 3 damage to that creature or player instead.
Tibalt, Sore LoserRR
Planeswalker - Tibalt (M)
+2: Discard a card, then flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw a card.
-1: Tibalt deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
-7: You get an emblem with "If you would lose a coin flip, instead you win the flip."
1
Pawn Off2G
Instant (U)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment, then flip a coin. If you win the flip, return it to the battlefield under your control.
Tiller of the Outskirts1G
Creature - Elf Shaman (C)
When Tiller of the Outskirts enters the battlefield, return target land card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
2/2
Blooddrinker Reaver1BB
Creature - Vampire (R)
First strike, lifelink
If an opponent would gain life, you gain that much life instead.
4/2
Crawling Bones3BB
Creature - Skeleton (C)
B: Return Crawling Bones from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
2/4
Six Feet Under2BB
Sorcery (C)
Destroy target creature. Target player puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is that creature's power.
Any help and input is much appreciated! Especially if someone can help me come up with a keyword mechanic. I want something to tie limited together as a whole, the way Bestow does in Theros.
Patient AssimilantGG:symub::symub:
Creature - Shapeshifter (M)
You may have Patient Assimilant enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it's a horror in addition to its other types.
If Patient Assimilant would die, transform it instead.
0/0
// The Thing
Creature - Horror
Other horror creatures you control get +1/+1 and have deathtouch.
Whenever a non-horror creature dies, return it to the battlefield under your control. It becomes a horror in addition to its other types.
5/5
Terramorphic Mox0
Legendary Artifact
You may choose not to untap Terramorphic Mox during your untap step.
:symtap:: Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library. When Terramorphic Mox leaves the battlefield or becomes untapped, sacrifice that land.
Ball // Chain BallBR
Instant (U)
Destroy target nonblack, nonred creature or nongate, nonbasic land.
// Fuse // ChainWU
Instant (U)
Exile target nonland permanent. Return it to the battlefield detained under its owner's control at the beginning of your next end step.
Draw a card.
Burnout Flamekin1RR
Creature - Elemental Berzerker
Double strike
Whenever Burnout Flamekin deals combat damage for the second time in a turn, sacrifice it.
3/4
So...this is an answer this now or lose your entire hand. Pretty good against control, especially if you manage to cheat it into play faster than turn 6.
So from the current Tier 1 control decks UWR will have the hardest time against it if this card is played off a Cavern of Souls. Rapid Hybridization is not a card you want to play more often than not, so you are pretty much left with Renounce the Guilds. There's also the option of Harvest Pyre which is usually reserved for the Boros Reckoner combo.
Actually, Unsummon kills it if you do it with the trigger on the stack.
Say'ah, Banished to the PastRG
Legendary Creature - Human Warrior
If Say'ah is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it in play with three time counters on it. If you do, it has vanishing. (At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from this permanent. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)
3/3
Temporal BanishmentU
Sorcery (U)
Target opponent reveals his or her hand. You may choose a creature card from it. If you do, put that card onto the battlefield under its owner's control with two time counters on it. That creature gains vanishing and if it would leave the battlefield, exile it instead. (At the beginning of the upkeep of that creature's controller, he or she removes a time counter from it. When the last is removed, that player sacrifices the creature.)
Feeble Caricature1B
Creature - Shapeshifter Horror (R)
You may have Feeble Caricature enter the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it's a Horror in addition to its other types. "Okay...THAT doesn't look like me at all."
0/0
Chrysomallus1GW
Creature - Goat (R)
All creatures able to block Chrysomallus do so.
When Chrysomallus dies, return it to the battlefield transformed under an opponent's control. Hunters dream of its coveted golden pelt.
3/3
// Golden Fleece (green/white)
Artifact
Creatures you control can't attack or block unless you pay 1 for each attacking or blocking creature. Soldiers don't dare leave the fleece unattended.
Up in SmokeRR
Sorcery (R)
You can't cast Up in Smoke during your first, second, or third turns of the game.
Destroy target land. Up in Smoke deals 2 damage to that land's controller.
Flavor
At around the same time, the Innistradi planeswalker Tibalt came to Anla Ukra in search of greater power to regain some autonomy on his home plane by dispatching its protector, Sorin. He soon found himself drawn to Kazritha, and upon reaching the city, quickly became just as degenerate as the rest of its human population. The fortune of a wish granted by a powerful Efreet was exactly what he needed to fight his nemesis. However, as he continued to gamble, Tibalt found that his luck never seemed to run out; on the contrary, he hasn't lost a game in quite some time. The fiend-blooded planeswalker revels in his winning streak, but he can't help but wonder if there isn't more to his good fortune than it appears.
Unsatisfied with Axal's inability to quell the rowdy Efreet, who run Kazritha, and the human demagogues who believe in a functional anarchy, Luca himself has recently arrived in the city, bringing with him a large contingent of Sipari soldiers. The Exarch refuses to gamble, but seems to constantly find himself in exceedingly bizarre, near-death situations, only to be rescued by a passing Efreet. It seems as though fortune holds some sort of grudge against Luca. To make matters worse, soldiers have been overhearing murmurs of an ancient Kazrithan myth regarding the city's supposed founder, known only as the Kazri. Morale is at an all-time low, with the superstitious troops growing more and more restless and fearful of the Kazri's return. Only fueling the paranoia is the recent discovery of a forgotten network of catacombs beneath the Casino District, which stretches all the way to the coastline.
Mechanics
Unearth (Exclusive to Jund colors; supports a BG graveyard theme)
Chaos (An ability word that grants some ability or stronger effect if you've won a coin flip this turn)
The coin flip symbol, represented by the Planechase "chaos" symbol (Used when coin flipping is part of a cost)
In White and Blue, and especially in
I've been looking for a new mechanic to tie everything together. I'd like to have one that appears in all five colors.
Mechanical Implications of Red Shift
Since Red still has significantly more commons and uncommons than any other color, the breakdown of supported draft strategies is as follows:
- R/W: Tokens
- B/R: Sacrifice
- R/G: Phoenixes
- U/R: Coin flipping
- W/U: "Enters the battlefield"
- Mono R: Chaos
- B/G: Graveyard
Note that White and Blue only appear together or with Red. All three Jund colors follow at least a minor graveyard theme, which shows up in Red with phoenixes, looting, and Flame Burst-type Sorceries. White and Blue have no such synergies.
Design Skeleton (in progress)
White (11): 1 bear with upside
1
Blue (11): 1 bounce spell
1 serpent
1 new mechanic (coin flipping)
1 off color white activation
1 card draw spell
1 small blocker
1 coin flip influencer
Black (19): 1 premium removal
1 conditional removal
1 white hoser (spell)
1 lifelinker
1 off color red activation (creature)
1 off color red activation (removal spell)
Red (34): 1 shock/bolt (Fortune Bolt)
1 looter
1 threaten
1 3/2 for 2
1
Green (19): 1 naturalize
1 giant growth
1 spider
1
U/W Hybrid (3): 1 soft counter
1 small flyer
1 removal enchantment
Artifact/Land (7): 1 tainted swamp
1 tainted forest
1 coin flip enabler (vertical cycle)
3 equipment
1 mana fixer
Uncommon (60):
White (5): 1 removal enchantment
1 tapper
1 aggressive weenie
1 redirection spell
1 “creatures matter” (Crusader of Odric)
Blue (5): 1 bounce spell
1
1
Black (11): 1 build-around-me
1 premium removal
1 value removal
1 big lifelinker
1 card draw spell
1 white hoser (creature)
1 creature that’s hard to kill
1 pinpointed discard
Red (20): 1 build-around-me
Green (11): 1 build-around-me
1 giant dude
1 blue hoser (creature)
1 stomphowler
1 token generator (creature)
U/W Hybrid (3): 1 build-around-me
1 big flyer
Artifact/Land (5): 1 tainted island
1 tainted plains
1 coin flip enabler (vertical cycle)
1 lamp
1 BRG tri-land
Rare (53):
White (5): 2 efficient weenies
1 big flyer
1 hate enchantment
1 blink effect
Blue (5): 1 big flyer
1 clone
1 control magic
1 coinflip influencer
1 card draw spell
Black (10): 1 premium removal spell
1 wrath
1 Bridge from Below
Red (15): 1 premium removal spell
Green (10): 1 mana elf
1
U/W Hybrid (2): 1 build-around-me
1 red hoser (creature)
Multicolored (3): 1 Absorb
1 BR removal spell
1 GR monster
Artifact/Land (5): 1 coin flip enabler (vertical cycle)
1 manland (Crowded Casino)
1 red land (Kazritha)
1 equipment
1 U/W dual land
Mythic (15)
White (0):
Blue (0):
Black (3): 1 graveyard dude
1 giant legendary demon
1
Red (4): 1 Tibalt
Green (3):
U/W Hybrid (2): 1 Stasis effect
1 Dovescape creature
Multicolored (2): 1 UW Planeswalker
1 BRG monster
Artifact/Land (1):
A Few Sample Cards (will be updated later)
Enchantment (U)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a charge counter on Constable's Snare.
Remove two charge counters from Constable's Snare: Tap target permanent. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
Outstanding Reprimand 1
Instant (C)
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 2.
Break Even 3R
Sorcery (C)
Draw four cards, then discard four cards.
Fortune Bolt R
Instant (C)
Chaos - Fortune Bolt deals 2 damage to target creature or player. If you won a coin flip this turn, it deals 3 damage to that creature or player instead.
Tibalt, Sore Loser RR
Planeswalker - Tibalt (M)
+2: Discard a card, then flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw a card.
-1: Tibalt deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
-7: You get an emblem with "If you would lose a coin flip, instead you win the flip."
1
Pawn Off 2G
Instant (U)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment, then flip a coin. If you win the flip, return it to the battlefield under your control.
Tiller of the Outskirts 1G
Creature - Elf Shaman (C)
When Tiller of the Outskirts enters the battlefield, return target land card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
2/2
Blooddrinker Reaver 1BB
Creature - Vampire (R)
First strike, lifelink
If an opponent would gain life, you gain that much life instead.
4/2
Crawling Bones 3BB
Creature - Skeleton (C)
B: Return Crawling Bones from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
2/4
Six Feet Under 2BB
Sorcery (C)
Destroy target creature. Target player puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is that creature's power.
Reprints
Prison Term
Reign of Chaos
Blood Moon
Absorb
Bridge from Below
Any help and input is much appreciated! Especially if someone can help me come up with a keyword mechanic. I want something to tie limited together as a whole, the way Bestow does in Theros.
Creature - Shapeshifter (M)
You may have Patient Assimilant enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it's a horror in addition to its other types.
If Patient Assimilant would die, transform it instead.
0/0
//
The Thing
Creature - Horror
Other horror creatures you control get +1/+1 and have deathtouch.
Whenever a non-horror creature dies, return it to the battlefield under your control. It becomes a horror in addition to its other types.
5/5
Legendary Artifact
You may choose not to untap Terramorphic Mox during your untap step.
:symtap:: Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library. When Terramorphic Mox leaves the battlefield or becomes untapped, sacrifice that land.
Ball BR
Instant (U)
Destroy target nonblack, nonred creature or nongate, nonbasic land.
// Fuse //
Chain WU
Instant (U)
Exile target nonland permanent. Return it to the battlefield detained under its owner's control at the beginning of your next end step.
Draw a card.
Creature - Illusion Spirit (M)
First strike
Whenever Errant Intangible deals combat damage, exile it.
0: Return Errant Intangible from exile to the battlefield.
2/2
Creature - Elemental Berzerker
Double strike
Whenever Burnout Flamekin deals combat damage for the second time in a turn, sacrifice it.
3/4
Actually, Unsummon kills it if you do it with the trigger on the stack.
Instant
Spider creatures you control get +1/+2 and gain deathtouch until end of turn.
Legendary Creature - Human Warrior
If Say'ah is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it in play with three time counters on it. If you do, it has vanishing. (At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from this permanent. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)
3/3
Sorcery (U)
Target opponent reveals his or her hand. You may choose a creature card from it. If you do, put that card onto the battlefield under its owner's control with two time counters on it. That creature gains vanishing and if it would leave the battlefield, exile it instead. (At the beginning of the upkeep of that creature's controller, he or she removes a time counter from it. When the last is removed, that player sacrifices the creature.)
Creature - Shapeshifter Horror (R)
You may have Feeble Caricature enter the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it's a Horror in addition to its other types.
"Okay...THAT doesn't look like me at all."
0/0
Creature - Goat (R)
All creatures able to block Chrysomallus do so.
When Chrysomallus dies, return it to the battlefield transformed under an opponent's control.
Hunters dream of its coveted golden pelt.
3/3
//
Golden Fleece (green/white)
Artifact
Creatures you control can't attack or block unless you pay 1 for each attacking or blocking creature.
Soldiers don't dare leave the fleece unattended.
Sorcery (U)
Stampede deals X damage to each creature and each player, where X is the number of creatures you control.
Sorcery (R)
You can't cast Up in Smoke during your first, second, or third turns of the game.
Destroy target land. Up in Smoke deals 2 damage to that land's controller.