Bah, lies!
They must think no one uses Linux and can actually test that claim
People use Linux?
...
Consider my mind blown.
OT though, this is quite the bad PR for Wizards. First making people spam the facebook of their friends and then it crashes so we don't get what we spammed for. Eesh.
I like the idea of the 10 tribes each having their own mechanic, and how you've moved mechanics to colours that might not be so obvious but which make sense from your descriptions. I disagree with your inclusion of Morph because [a] it's far more complex than the other mechanics, and [b] it won't appear in large enough numbers to be that much of an 'unknown' quality.
[B]I suppose you are right here. I may have underestimated how the surprise factor comes into play with Morphs. I shall further test the Kitsune I am considering to see how that one works out.[/B]
However, your 'extra' mechanics are very specific, and I don't get them. You've put tribal Humans in WUbut Wild Call in G? And Wild Call is similar to Transcend which is kinda similar to Duplicate? Mind Twist involves a fair bit of shuffling and is actually beneficial to your opponent?
[B]Wild Call was meant to truly be something representing the wilderness, and thus not something to the more 'urban' humans, hence the fact that they moved to UW. I do hope once I post them up, the reasoning becomes a bit more clear. This will also be clear once the Faeries get up, they have less Wild Call then the Beastwitches or the Centaurs.
Mind Twist I struggled with. It was actually the last ability I came up with and I feared that since it'd overlap with GB's Persist, it would easily become too powerful if it'd give you card advantage. [/B]
Also, from a flavour perspective, why do four tribes each have access to an incredibly specific kind of magic? For me the crossover would more appear in general colour overlap, not so narrow an ability. I am by no means saying these mechanics shouldn't exist, quite the contrary. I just think that they're rather obtuse and don't make sense together, let alone in a world where you're showcasing 10 other mechanics, on top of regular Magic shenanigans. Those abilities would be nice to see on individual cards (e.g. Flaresling just being an ability on one Ogre to help out Madness, or Duplicate on a Faerie to help out Convoke.
[B]I wished for each tribe to have something of their own, yet there also should be the feeling that the world is connected which I'd done through these mechanics. Each tribe has something in common with others while at the same time still being rather different - it should be the way in that the 3 different abilities they get work together that they are different from the others.
That said I will be making sure that the new abilities aren't given out like candy. The BG cards may have gotten quite a lot of Wild Call and a healthy dose of Mind Twist, but that is because I figured they are the tribe that'd make use most of both due to their nature as witches (thus Mind Twist) and their wild nature (hence Wild Call). Again the Faeries will have FAR less Wild Call, yet quite a lot of Duplicate which'll work with their small size.
I do understand where you are coming from though, I'll make sure to keep it somewhat toned down. I do plan that once this is finished to make a followup set to give the abilities more space for showcase.[/B]
I only briefly looked at your BG cards and they seem very complex. Chaos Hydra is indeed chaotic - I have no idea why the blocking abilities aren't both 2, or why it needs the two new keywords at all. Many decent cards only have 1-3 abilities, and it would do to even out to 2 per card.
[B]Chaos Hydra is mostly a mixture of a flavorful card and a mechanical card. I wanted him to truly cause the chaos such a creature would bring to the battlefield, and thus the abilities. As for the blocking, yeah I should even that one up.
I did kinda go for a Baneslayer Angel feel with him. French Vanilla-ish.[/B]
Lastly, I noticed that some of your hybrid mana cards still require both colours of mana. Hybrid exists to give you a choice, but if that choice isn't really relevant (i.e. still requires both colours) then I'm not sure why it's there.
[B]This is done because while I wanted a certain amount of freedom - certain cards shouldn't leave the GB colour. Yet at the same time, I never put more then one specific mana symbol in (Won't happen in the entire set) so that each card will be possible to be played in a deck that only has one of their colours with just a tiny splash of mana just for that card (Kinda like how some decks now splash a bit of B just for Lingering Souls). I also felt some cards would just be too strong if left purely hybrid.[/B]
Overall I quite like the idea for your set, I'm just concerned about complexity.
I feel like this is mechanic overload. Ravnica did this, but it split the mechanics up into three separate sets, and didn't have 5 additional mechanics on top of that. Not to mention that a lot of the mechanics clash with each other. (You can't even have Reinforce and Persist in the same set, since one uses + and the other - counters, which is something you're supposed to avoid.) Plus, with so many different tribes it seems like the tribal elements are going to be spread really thin.
[B]Oops, I did kind of goof up there on the + and - counters, forgot WOTC doesn't allow both to appear in one and the same block. Well, back to the drawing tables for that one.
The Tribal element isn't supposed to be HUGE, just present. As I should've mentioned in the opening post, I will be making a followup on this one. Might've indeed went with the Ravnica approach.[/B]
I like where this idea is going, but like viridian said, it looks much too complex.
EDIT: Also, I'd like to add that hybrid and tribal don't really go well together. The point of hybrid is to let me mix things up. Hybrid lets me play (U/B)and(W/R) cards in my (W/U) deck. But if it's a tribal set, i'll want to take as many (W/U) cards as I can (especially because of human kinship). This ultimately results in the hybrid not meaning very much, since it's redundant when you want to draft two colors anyway.
[B]It will depend on the choices one would make, I guess. There is still the possibility of allowing for WB splash in that WU deck, yeah you'll draft as much WU as you can get but odds are you won't get a full deck just from those.
This is also where the shared mechanics come in - the set is partially built around having options as well as the tribal element. Hybrid allows one to have those options.[/B]
I do see where you both are coming from and I hope I can prove that with the cards that will come out, it shows it's less complicated and messy then it'd appear on first glance. I thank you both for the input.
This is a custom set, based on hybrid tribes much akin to Lorwyn. 10 tribes, each of a hybrid colour, each with their own mechanics.
The mechanics are divided by colour and by tribe. Each tribe gets one recurring mechanic, and each colour gets a new mechanic. This means that each tribe has access to three different mechanics. The tribes with their specific recurring mechanic and a short description are as follows:
Dryads
Returning Mechanic: Evoke
Dryads are the protectors of the woods, or so it is said. They have many elf-like qualities in Devyja. The community of dryads is a strong one - hurt a dryad and you can be sure others will soon rush down upon you. Yet at the same time, they are also flighty and quick to disappear if the danger they face is too big, for this reason it is easy to suspect they are related to the Faeries. Dwarves
Returning Mechanic: Reinforce
The dwarves of Devyja are a reclusive folk, living in caves and mountain strongholds. Their craftsmanship however is legendary, as is their strong sense of community. Individually a dwarf may not be much of a threat - in a band, they make for fierce enemies. However they generally prefer to be left alone, except when trading. Merfolk
Returning Mechanic: Scry
The Merfolk are considered to be Devyja's seers. It is said that in the waters they swim in, they can see both future and past. No matter the exact truth, it is a fact that their wisdom stretches beyond that of most other creatures on the plane. And they themselves know it as well, making full use of it, leading to a gargantuan thriving kingdom underwater. Beastwitches
Returning Mechanic: Persist
The Beastwitches are pretty much exactly as it says on the tin - a race of beasts, mostly reptilian in nature, that have the power of witchcraft. There is debate as to whether this is a trick of shapeshifters or if their reptilian state is their natural form - they don't allow for outsiders in their settlements and as such one may never know. Minotaurs
Returning Mechanic: Delve
The Minotaurs have developed a certain affinity with death magic. While they balk at necromancy itself, they have no problems using the dead as the fuel for their warmachines. Considered to be the most fierce warriors of Devyja as well as the most aggressive, other races count themselves lucky that Minotaurs have low birth rates, as well as the high number of casualties their head-first battle style causes. Faeries
Returning Mechanic: Convoke
The Faeries are pranksters at heart but at the same time, they feel they cannot abandon their duty as nature's guards alongside the dryads. However, where the Dryads rely on their strict natural bonds, the Fae prefer to scout, learn and improve themselves in order to always have a natural edge over their enemies. Centaurs
Returning Mechanic: Battle Cry
Much like the Minotaurs, the Centaurs are rather fierce warriors as well. Yet the two always rival because of the fact that the Centaurs consider the dead sacred, whereas the Minotaurs see them as fuel. The Centaurs hold ancient traditions in high regard and are very unlikely to ever move from this, which causes some fears that their old ways might be their biggest enemy. Ogres
Returning Mechanic: Madness
Not that long ago, the Ogres were considered to be the lowest of the low in Devyja. However over time they have harnessed magic talents that have allowed them to create marvels that even the humans, minotaurs and kitsune are jealous of. This has also made the other races a bit defensive towards them - who is to say that the Ogres won't use their newfound powers against those who used to ridicule them. Kitsune
Returning Mechanic: Morph
Much akin to the Fae, the Kitsune are natural tricksters. Unlike the Fae though, the Kitsune do not believe in some sort of natural duty, they just do what comes naturally. The only exception is when a Kitsune has taken a special liking to someone else - the lucky party will be protected with the life of said Kitsune, if neccesary. Otherwise though, they are the most unpredictable race on Devyja. Humans
Returning Mechanic: Kinship
The humans may be the most magically adept race on the plane, physically speaking they are also amongst the frailest. This position has forced them to be less of a presence then on other planes, mostly staying in big walled cities. While they are not directly threatened by the other races, this position has left them sort of paranoid, and outsiders are treated with distrust.
As for the new keywords, they are the following: Transcend
A creature with Transcend will, when sent to the graveyard, be able to remove itself from play. If it does so, its owner may search the deck for a creature with the same name and put it into the hand. Duplicate
A creature with Duplicate will be able to put a token that is a copy of itself, without any abilities, on the battlefield for its Duplicate cost. Mind Twist
When a creature with Mind Twist comes into play, it may have target opponent shuffle cards back into its deck equal to the creature's CMC. Then that opponent draws the same amount of cards. Flaresling X
When a creature with Flaresling X attacks, that player may discard X cards from the hand to do X damage to target player. X may have varying values here. Wild Call X
A creature with Wild Call X will be able to, at the moment it is put into play, look at the top X cards of their deck and then add a creature with a CMC of X or less that shares a creature type with it to its owners hand. The rest of the cards are put on the bottom of the deck.
Naturally, other evergreen keywords return as well.
Set Breakdown:
250 cards
Each faction will get 22 cards, 30 are reserved for non-faction-specific cards
Each faction gets at least:
1 Legendary creature
1 Mana-Producing Artifact (Akin to the Ravnica Signets)
2 Land cards
Each faction also gets:
2 Mythics
4 Rares
6 Uncommons
10 Commons
The rest of the 30 cards are divided as follows:
6 Rares
10 Uncommons
14 Commons
Let's start, the first faction will be: The Beastwitches.
Chaos Hydra :2mana::symb::symg::symgb::symgb::symgb:
Creature - Beastwitch Hydra (M)
Trample, Persist, Wild Call 4, Mind Twist
Chaos Hydra can't be blocked except by 2 or more creatures.
Chaos Hydra can block up to 3 creatures.
4/7
Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou :symb::symg::symgb:
Creature - Beastwitch Shapeshifter (M)
Persist, Wild Call 8
Other Beastwitch creatures you control get +1/+1
Whenever a Beastwitch creature you control destroys an opponent's creature in combat, draw a card and gain 2 life. "The sheer terror on one's face when you turn into a giant snake...oh how I treasure that look."
1/5
Basilisk Abomination :3mana::symgb::symgb:
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (R)
Deathtouch, Mind Twist
:symgb::symgb::symgb::symgb:: Remove a -1/-1 counter from target creature; Basilisk Abomination gets +3/+3 until the end of turn. "Don't you like my darling pet?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
3/4
Wyvern Monarch :4mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Drake (R)
Flying, Persist
Whenever Wyvern Monarch becomes blocked by a creature, put a -1/-1 counter on that creature. "Not only don't they stay dead, they also have this annoying tendency to carry diseases with them"
- Roland Gryphonheart.
6/2
Lizard Wizard :symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Wizard (R)
Wild Call 6, Mind Twist Target creature gains Persist until the end of turn.
:symg::symb:, :symtap:: The next creature you cast from your hand gains Mind Twist and Wild Call X, where X is that creature's converted mana cost. "Oh sure they don't have all my powers. But they're pretty close."
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
1/2
Soul Sucker :2mana::symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Horror (R)
Flying, Persist
:symbg::symbg:: Soul Sucker is unblockable during this turn.
Whenever Soul Sucker damages an opponent, remove all counters from it. "Who needs bloodsuckers when you have these?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
2/3
Gnoll Warleader :1mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (U)
Other Beastwitch creatures you control get +1/+1 The Gnolls may not be the highest creatures in Beastwitch hierachy, they do know how to motivate others amongst the ranks and as such are highly valued within the army.
2/2
Tyranodra :6mana::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (U)
Persist "Yes, it's dumb. Yes, it takes ten minutes before it figured out you actually hit it. But it also has more muscles then your entire army combined. Do you really wish to argue with that?"
- Roland Gryphonheart.
8/5
Serpent Fly :1mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Snake (U)
Flying, Wild Call 3, Mind Twist "It's a snake. That flies. What more do you want?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
3/1
Mephala's Call :2mana::symbg:
Instant (U)
Discard a card from your hand; search your deck for a Beastwitch creature card that has the same name as a Beastwitch creature card in your graveyard and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
Fumes of the Bayou
Enchantment (U)
Whenever a non-Beastwitch creature enters the battlefield, its owner chooses, it either enters the battlefield tapped or with a -1/-1 counter on it.
Bayou Fort
Land (U)
:symtap:: Add to your mana pool
:1mana:,:symtap:: Add :1mana::symbg: to your mana pool. Many armies get surprised by how sturdy wooden walls can be, especially after a long trek through the bayous.
Lizard Archer :symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Lizard (C)
Wild Call 3
:symtap:: Lizard Archer deals damage to target flying creature equal to its power. It could be considered strange to see how easy the Lizards take down birds, but they'd miss a charging Minotaur if they were only five yards away.
1/3
Gnoll Footsoldier
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (C) "I wouldn't call them expandable, for in death they serve no use. Do I look like a minotaur to you?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
1/2
Wyverling :2mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Drake (C)
Flying, Wild Call 2, Mind Twist, Persist While not nearly as dangerous as full grown Wyverns, the young ones have a voracious appetite which makes them far more unpredictable.
2/2
Reclusive Witch :1mana::symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Spider (C)
Reach, Persist "I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the...AAAH!"
- Unknown Ogre Windmage, last words.
1/5
Slithering Harvester :symbg::symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Snake (C)
Nonbasic Landwalk
Whenever Slithering Harvester deals damage to an opponent, you may draw cards equal to the amount of Beastwitch creatures you have in play.
1/3
Bayou's Harness
Artifact - Equipment (C)
Equipped creature has Persist
Equip "The day is won men, now let's harvest their corpses...what do you mean, they're not dead? I decapitated them!"
- Lord Shatterhorn, last words.
Mephala's Necklace
Artifact(C)
:symtap:: Add :symb::symg: to your mana pool. It is said that Mephala's Necklace contains a sizeable chunk of her arcane powers.
Shifting Wounds :2mana::symb::symg:
Enchantment (C)
Cumulative Upkeep: Move a -1/-1 counter from a creature you control to another creature you control. "It was like something I had never seen before. The gargantuan beast appeared, took the wounds of all the smaller ones, and then it retreated, leaving the army fresh to fight us once more."
- Roland Gryphonheart.
Draw Strength :symbg::symbg::symbg:
Instant (C)
Put 3 -1/-1 counters on creatures you control in any way you like; draw 2 cards. "Sometimes even we must sacrifice things for the bigger picture."
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
Bayou's Toll :2mana::symbg::symbg:
Sorcery (C)
Put 3 -1/-1 counters on target creature. Target creature you control gets +3/+3 until the end of your turn. "The Bayou gives, the Bayou takes. Much like any other goverment, come and think of it."
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
OTHER FACTIONS WILL BE POSTED IN TIME
However, I would hugely appreciate feedback. If you see any balancing issues, formatting problems, ANYTHING, please do mention it and I shall fix it.
What is to keep Wizards from printing less-then-archetypical cards by the way? It's like "This is what dwarves are, so they MUST print this." Who is to say they can't give them a little spin, working from the basic and expanding on it with some own points? Take the Zendikar Vampires with their hook attachments, that's not exactly the norm for vampires is it? Or the Mercadian Masques Goblins, just naming something.
Therefore, it's quite possible to make lower-cost Minotaurs as well. Yes, it is true that Minotaurs are mostly seen as big bulky beefy raging beasts, but even races like that need their healers, farmers etcetera, opening design space for low CMC Minotaurs.
As for Dwarves, Industrialism/Creating stuff has been often named a possibility for Red as well, though I can't seem to find the rant that mentioned this. Forging weapons and mining is rather Red by certain definitions of the colour wheel. Combined with the sense of communion and the greater good that the dwarves have on the White side, and voila, you have the RW dwarves.
Finally, let he who says Vampires Claim Their Fame From Twilight please get buried under a truckload of proper vampire movies and books. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a game of Vampire: The Masquerade to finish.
I never had any issue with RDW decks. We have flying creatures whereas they don't.
But it depends on your build. I have CotP x4, Traveler x4, Gather the Townsfolk x4 and that is enough to chumpblock during the 1st turns before having spirits in action with 2 anthems in play.
Chandra's Phoenix doesn't fly anymore? Though I get your point, I just thought I'd point that one out.
Also, keep in mind that humans can't block Stromkirk. While not a huge issue, it does help with early damage for RDW's favor.
If RDW is a big problem for you, consider Celestial Purge and the afformentioned Timely Reinforcements. Aim Condemn on the Phoenix (If they play it, if not, go nuts on whatever creature they try to drop), and barring some lucky Ratchet Bombs and Arc Trails, you should have a positive matchup. Sword of War and Peace can give RDW fits too, especially combined with the above.
But yeah, Condemn, Timely, SoWaP, maybe Oblivion Ring to remove Grenade targets (Especially if they try a Reverberate Grenade) should work.
If they are going to sideboard specifically for you, their sideboard will be less-then-optimal against others. How much of a threat do you represent to the others compared to the rest of the field? That's always the question. You could say the same about any deck really, if everyone knows you're playing GR Ramp, they could fully sideboard against that...and then?
And yet games have been won where opponents played a Both Bonus Timely Reinforcement AND SoWaP. How? Sheer aggressiveness. That SoWaP won't do you much good if you can't attach it or if it's grudged. Thalia, while an amazing card, has a toughness of 1. There isn't much in RDW that can't deal with that. At best, Thalia trades 2 mana for the ability to slightly slow down RDW's gameplan.
Now I am not one to claim that RDW is the best deck in format - it isn't, it can be beaten and it hates certain cards - but the cards you named aren't the most common and certainly not the strongest/most consistent answers to RDW. And if you're on a budget like the OP indicated, then RDW is far from a bad choice. If you want a complete RDW list, I doubt anything that can beat other high-tier decks will cost less (If only because most dual lands seem to outprice Chandra's Phoenix already...). Maybe Mono-Green if you can make it work without Primeval Titan and Garruk.
I'd like to echo the point that if you're on a budget, RDW might be the best option. The money cards are Stromkirk Noble, Grim Lavamancer and Chandra's Phoenix, neither of them being really expensive to begin with. Aside from Hellrider, most of the rest of the deck is composed of commons and uncommons. And you can make builds without some of those as well. It really hates Undying stuff though, so keep that in mind.
Hero does nothing against all the anthem effects produced by Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, Intangible Virtue or any other White Anthem you can think of. I'm seeing more and more of a shift towards Hellrider, who helps racing even faster and has just a bit more durability.
Koth isn't needed. His effects are cute, but quick burn spells (Arc Trail in particular) seem to do much, much more then Koth does for the 4 mana he costs. Playing him down is like painting a target on him, people will never let him alone unless they can instantly kill you.
I'd just keep Koth out of the 75 altogether. There are far more aggressive options for the main, and far better specific deck-neuter options for the side.
Nothing wrong with siding in a few Grafdigger's Cage at least. It isn't a full stop as they can always run Naturalize (Black is kinda shafted though), but it is available.
Though it's not very likely to come in handy when copying Mana Leak, given how few options it has to actually be profittable. You must have 2 mana open (if you have 3 open, why not just pay for Mana Leak...and if you have 1 or 0 open, you're screwed), and they may not have more then 2 mana open themselves. Other then that, it does have a lot of nice applications.
Just saying but you got Vault Skirge noted twice in the creatures list.
One card I'd like to note is Black Cat. The 2-Drop-Slot seems to be the worst in Mono-Black, but the Cat gives you some (minor) control, has amazing synergy with Altar Reap, and at worst he'll block something and still force your opponent to discard. Not the best card, but fun. And hey, it's a cat. Can't go wrong with kitties.
People use Linux?
...
Consider my mind blown.
OT though, this is quite the bad PR for Wizards. First making people spam the facebook of their friends and then it crashes so we don't get what we spammed for. Eesh.
I do see where you both are coming from and I hope I can prove that with the cards that will come out, it shows it's less complicated and messy then it'd appear on first glance. I thank you both for the input.
The mechanics are divided by colour and by tribe. Each tribe gets one recurring mechanic, and each colour gets a new mechanic. This means that each tribe has access to three different mechanics. The tribes with their specific recurring mechanic and a short description are as follows:
Returning Mechanic: Evoke
Dryads are the protectors of the woods, or so it is said. They have many elf-like qualities in Devyja. The community of dryads is a strong one - hurt a dryad and you can be sure others will soon rush down upon you. Yet at the same time, they are also flighty and quick to disappear if the danger they face is too big, for this reason it is easy to suspect they are related to the Faeries.
Returning Mechanic: Reinforce
The dwarves of Devyja are a reclusive folk, living in caves and mountain strongholds. Their craftsmanship however is legendary, as is their strong sense of community. Individually a dwarf may not be much of a threat - in a band, they make for fierce enemies. However they generally prefer to be left alone, except when trading.
Returning Mechanic: Scry
The Merfolk are considered to be Devyja's seers. It is said that in the waters they swim in, they can see both future and past. No matter the exact truth, it is a fact that their wisdom stretches beyond that of most other creatures on the plane. And they themselves know it as well, making full use of it, leading to a gargantuan thriving kingdom underwater.
Returning Mechanic: Persist
The Beastwitches are pretty much exactly as it says on the tin - a race of beasts, mostly reptilian in nature, that have the power of witchcraft. There is debate as to whether this is a trick of shapeshifters or if their reptilian state is their natural form - they don't allow for outsiders in their settlements and as such one may never know.
Returning Mechanic: Delve
The Minotaurs have developed a certain affinity with death magic. While they balk at necromancy itself, they have no problems using the dead as the fuel for their warmachines. Considered to be the most fierce warriors of Devyja as well as the most aggressive, other races count themselves lucky that Minotaurs have low birth rates, as well as the high number of casualties their head-first battle style causes.
Returning Mechanic: Convoke
The Faeries are pranksters at heart but at the same time, they feel they cannot abandon their duty as nature's guards alongside the dryads. However, where the Dryads rely on their strict natural bonds, the Fae prefer to scout, learn and improve themselves in order to always have a natural edge over their enemies.
Returning Mechanic: Battle Cry
Much like the Minotaurs, the Centaurs are rather fierce warriors as well. Yet the two always rival because of the fact that the Centaurs consider the dead sacred, whereas the Minotaurs see them as fuel. The Centaurs hold ancient traditions in high regard and are very unlikely to ever move from this, which causes some fears that their old ways might be their biggest enemy.
Returning Mechanic: Madness
Not that long ago, the Ogres were considered to be the lowest of the low in Devyja. However over time they have harnessed magic talents that have allowed them to create marvels that even the humans, minotaurs and kitsune are jealous of. This has also made the other races a bit defensive towards them - who is to say that the Ogres won't use their newfound powers against those who used to ridicule them.
Returning Mechanic: Morph
Much akin to the Fae, the Kitsune are natural tricksters. Unlike the Fae though, the Kitsune do not believe in some sort of natural duty, they just do what comes naturally. The only exception is when a Kitsune has taken a special liking to someone else - the lucky party will be protected with the life of said Kitsune, if neccesary. Otherwise though, they are the most unpredictable race on Devyja.
Returning Mechanic: Kinship
The humans may be the most magically adept race on the plane, physically speaking they are also amongst the frailest. This position has forced them to be less of a presence then on other planes, mostly staying in big walled cities. While they are not directly threatened by the other races, this position has left them sort of paranoid, and outsiders are treated with distrust.
As for the new keywords, they are the following:
A creature with Transcend will, when sent to the graveyard, be able to remove itself from play. If it does so, its owner may search the deck for a creature with the same name and put it into the hand.
A creature with Duplicate will be able to put a token that is a copy of itself, without any abilities, on the battlefield for its Duplicate cost.
When a creature with Mind Twist comes into play, it may have target opponent shuffle cards back into its deck equal to the creature's CMC. Then that opponent draws the same amount of cards.
When a creature with Flaresling X attacks, that player may discard X cards from the hand to do X damage to target player. X may have varying values here.
A creature with Wild Call X will be able to, at the moment it is put into play, look at the top X cards of their deck and then add a creature with a CMC of X or less that shares a creature type with it to its owners hand. The rest of the cards are put on the bottom of the deck.
Naturally, other evergreen keywords return as well.
Set Breakdown:
250 cards
Each faction will get 22 cards, 30 are reserved for non-faction-specific cards
Each faction gets at least:
1 Legendary creature
1 Mana-Producing Artifact (Akin to the Ravnica Signets)
2 Land cards
Each faction also gets:
2 Mythics
4 Rares
6 Uncommons
10 Commons
The rest of the 30 cards are divided as follows:
6 Rares
10 Uncommons
14 Commons
Let's start, the first faction will be: The Beastwitches.
Creature - Beastwitch Hydra (M)
Trample, Persist, Wild Call 4, Mind Twist
Chaos Hydra can't be blocked except by 2 or more creatures.
Chaos Hydra can block up to 3 creatures.
4/7
Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou :symb::symg::symgb:
Creature - Beastwitch Shapeshifter (M)
Persist, Wild Call 8
Other Beastwitch creatures you control get +1/+1
Whenever a Beastwitch creature you control destroys an opponent's creature in combat, draw a card and gain 2 life.
"The sheer terror on one's face when you turn into a giant snake...oh how I treasure that look."
1/5
Basilisk Abomination :3mana::symgb::symgb:
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (R)
Deathtouch, Mind Twist
:symgb::symgb::symgb::symgb:: Remove a -1/-1 counter from target creature; Basilisk Abomination gets +3/+3 until the end of turn.
"Don't you like my darling pet?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
3/4
Wyvern Monarch :4mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Drake (R)
Flying, Persist
Whenever Wyvern Monarch becomes blocked by a creature, put a -1/-1 counter on that creature.
"Not only don't they stay dead, they also have this annoying tendency to carry diseases with them"
- Roland Gryphonheart.
6/2
Lizard Wizard :symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Wizard (R)
Wild Call 6, Mind Twist
:symg::symb:, :symtap:: The next creature you cast from your hand gains Mind Twist and Wild Call X, where X is that creature's converted mana cost.
"Oh sure they don't have all my powers. But they're pretty close."
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
1/2
Soul Sucker :2mana::symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Horror (R)
Flying, Persist
:symbg::symbg:: Soul Sucker is unblockable during this turn.
Whenever Soul Sucker damages an opponent, remove all counters from it.
"Who needs bloodsuckers when you have these?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
2/3
Gnoll Warleader :1mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (U)
Other Beastwitch creatures you control get +1/+1
The Gnolls may not be the highest creatures in Beastwitch hierachy, they do know how to motivate others amongst the ranks and as such are highly valued within the army.
2/2
Tyranodra :6mana::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (U)
Persist
"Yes, it's dumb. Yes, it takes ten minutes before it figured out you actually hit it. But it also has more muscles then your entire army combined. Do you really wish to argue with that?"
- Roland Gryphonheart.
8/5
Serpent Fly :1mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Snake (U)
Flying, Wild Call 3, Mind Twist
"It's a snake. That flies. What more do you want?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
3/1
Mephala's Call :2mana::symbg:
Instant (U)
Discard a card from your hand; search your deck for a Beastwitch creature card that has the same name as a Beastwitch creature card in your graveyard and put it in your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards.
Fumes of the Bayou
Enchantment (U)
Whenever a non-Beastwitch creature enters the battlefield, its owner chooses, it either enters the battlefield tapped or with a -1/-1 counter on it.
Bayou Fort
Land (U)
:symtap:: Add
:1mana:,:symtap:: Add :1mana::symbg: to your mana pool.
Many armies get surprised by how sturdy wooden walls can be, especially after a long trek through the bayous.
Lizard Archer :symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Lizard (C)
Wild Call 3
:symtap:: Lizard Archer deals damage to target flying creature equal to its power.
It could be considered strange to see how easy the Lizards take down birds, but they'd miss a charging Minotaur if they were only five yards away.
1/3
Gnoll Footsoldier
Creature - Beastwitch Beast (C)
"I wouldn't call them expandable, for in death they serve no use. Do I look like a minotaur to you?"
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
1/2
Wyverling :2mana::symb::symg:
Creature - Beastwitch Drake (C)
Flying, Wild Call 2, Mind Twist, Persist
While not nearly as dangerous as full grown Wyverns, the young ones have a voracious appetite which makes them far more unpredictable.
2/2
Reclusive Witch :1mana::symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Spider (C)
Reach, Persist
"I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the...AAAH!"
- Unknown Ogre Windmage, last words.
1/5
Slithering Harvester :symbg::symbg::symbg:
Creature - Beastwitch Snake (C)
Nonbasic Landwalk
Whenever Slithering Harvester deals damage to an opponent, you may draw cards equal to the amount of Beastwitch creatures you have in play.
1/3
Bayou's Harness
Artifact - Equipment (C)
Equipped creature has Persist
Equip
"The day is won men, now let's harvest their corpses...what do you mean, they're not dead? I decapitated them!"
- Lord Shatterhorn, last words.
Mephala's Necklace
Artifact(C)
:symtap:: Add :symb::symg: to your mana pool.
It is said that Mephala's Necklace contains a sizeable chunk of her arcane powers.
Shifting Wounds :2mana::symb::symg:
Enchantment (C)
Cumulative Upkeep: Move a -1/-1 counter from a creature you control to another creature you control.
"It was like something I had never seen before. The gargantuan beast appeared, took the wounds of all the smaller ones, and then it retreated, leaving the army fresh to fight us once more."
- Roland Gryphonheart.
Draw Strength :symbg::symbg::symbg:
Instant (C)
Put 3 -1/-1 counters on creatures you control in any way you like; draw 2 cards.
"Sometimes even we must sacrifice things for the bigger picture."
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
Bayou's Toll :2mana::symbg::symbg:
Sorcery (C)
Put 3 -1/-1 counters on target creature. Target creature you control gets +3/+3 until the end of your turn.
"The Bayou gives, the Bayou takes. Much like any other goverment, come and think of it."
- Mephala, Witchmistress of the Bayou.
OTHER FACTIONS WILL BE POSTED IN TIME
However, I would hugely appreciate feedback. If you see any balancing issues, formatting problems, ANYTHING, please do mention it and I shall fix it.
Therefore, it's quite possible to make lower-cost Minotaurs as well. Yes, it is true that Minotaurs are mostly seen as big bulky beefy raging beasts, but even races like that need their healers, farmers etcetera, opening design space for low CMC Minotaurs.
As for Dwarves, Industrialism/Creating stuff has been often named a possibility for Red as well, though I can't seem to find the rant that mentioned this. Forging weapons and mining is rather Red by certain definitions of the colour wheel. Combined with the sense of communion and the greater good that the dwarves have on the White side, and voila, you have the RW dwarves.
Finally, let he who says Vampires Claim Their Fame From Twilight please get buried under a truckload of proper vampire movies and books. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a game of Vampire: The Masquerade to finish.
-grumbles- friggin twilight...
Chandra's Phoenix doesn't fly anymore? Though I get your point, I just thought I'd point that one out.
Also, keep in mind that humans can't block Stromkirk. While not a huge issue, it does help with early damage for RDW's favor.
If RDW is a big problem for you, consider Celestial Purge and the afformentioned Timely Reinforcements. Aim Condemn on the Phoenix (If they play it, if not, go nuts on whatever creature they try to drop), and barring some lucky Ratchet Bombs and Arc Trails, you should have a positive matchup. Sword of War and Peace can give RDW fits too, especially combined with the above.
But yeah, Condemn, Timely, SoWaP, maybe Oblivion Ring to remove Grenade targets (Especially if they try a Reverberate Grenade) should work.
And yet games have been won where opponents played a Both Bonus Timely Reinforcement AND SoWaP. How? Sheer aggressiveness. That SoWaP won't do you much good if you can't attach it or if it's grudged. Thalia, while an amazing card, has a toughness of 1. There isn't much in RDW that can't deal with that. At best, Thalia trades 2 mana for the ability to slightly slow down RDW's gameplan.
Now I am not one to claim that RDW is the best deck in format - it isn't, it can be beaten and it hates certain cards - but the cards you named aren't the most common and certainly not the strongest/most consistent answers to RDW. And if you're on a budget like the OP indicated, then RDW is far from a bad choice. If you want a complete RDW list, I doubt anything that can beat other high-tier decks will cost less (If only because most dual lands seem to outprice Chandra's Phoenix already...). Maybe Mono-Green if you can make it work without Primeval Titan and Garruk.
Koth isn't needed. His effects are cute, but quick burn spells (Arc Trail in particular) seem to do much, much more then Koth does for the 4 mana he costs. Playing him down is like painting a target on him, people will never let him alone unless they can instantly kill you.
I'd just keep Koth out of the 75 altogether. There are far more aggressive options for the main, and far better specific deck-neuter options for the side.
One card I'd like to note is Black Cat. The 2-Drop-Slot seems to be the worst in Mono-Black, but the Cat gives you some (minor) control, has amazing synergy with Altar Reap, and at worst he'll block something and still force your opponent to discard. Not the best card, but fun. And hey, it's a cat. Can't go wrong with kitties.